It Only Takes A Turn
by Forest Girl Kaz
Summary: Sequel to *Alone Together". Two years on, the past can have a way of coming back when you least expect it. A country governed by ancient magic is falling into chaos, its only hope resting on a mysterious shield and the company it brings with it.
1. A Society Divided

A/N: My original intention was to write this entire story and then gradually upload it but I think it's about time i posted some new work. I'd like to mention I've been working on this very slowly for the last few years so when my finished chapters run out, updates will become slower but I have every intention of finishing.

Thanks for reading and enjoy.

* * *

It was perfect. She had spent the entire afternoon sat on the golden sands of her favourite spot at the beach, her legs hunched with her old sketchbook resting neatly on them. Putting the finishing touches to her drawing, she let the blue pencil roll out of her left hand and took in the calming sounds of the waves. Opening her eyes, she admired her work: the mixture of blues creating the peaceful ocean, the warm yellows making up the sand along with the light reds bringing out the beauty of the rising sun. Blowing the excess pencil shavings from the paper, she took another pencil and signed the bottom left of the page.

_Alanna Laramie_

_

* * *

_

"Hello! Is anyone here? Link! I know you're here, Saria told me!" a golden Fairy fluttered through the dark rooms of the Forest Temple. Flying through the door which led to the courtyard, she almost dropped the pictograph she was carrying of a recent picture Malon had taken with her new pictobox. Scanning the courtyard, she screamed when a small, brown, three-legged woflos hobbled up to her, its pink tongue dripping with saliva as it eyed the Fairy. "Eek, get away from me!" She darted away only to be confronted with a huge red bird who flapped its long, multicoloured feathers excitedly as it peered at her with its dark, round eyes. "Aaah! Not you too!"

"It's only Travis and Perri, Madi," a deep voice laughed from the ledge above her.

"Huh? Who's there!" Madi was starting to wish she had never bothered coming to the temple.

"It's me, who else did you think was here?" Link slid his legs over the side, dropping down to the ground to stop Travis from following Madi anymore.

"Oh right, I keep forgetting what you sound like with that new manly voice of yours."

"I've always sounded like this," Link picked the little wolfos up.

"Nuh-uh, it changed!" she insisted. "I still can't believe you named that thing after Travis, it could be classed as offensive!"

"The other Travis thinks it's funny," Link put Travis down. "Did you only come here to say that?"

"Hmm? No, I came to show you this," Madi held the picture up so he could get a better look. The picture was of him and Saria at the ranch which had been taken only the day before. Malon had insisted they go there for long overdue haircuts, claiming she was the best free haircut anyone could get, even if no one had actually said that to her before.

"I like how Saria's hair turned out; although, I don't think she does," he looked at himself standing behind Saria with his arms around her, the difference in height becoming more noticeable over the years as Link kept shooting up leaving her a few inches shorter than him. Since Saria's hair had been so long, Malon had gone a little crazy with the scissors and when she had cut up to the Kokiri's shoulders, her hair started curling backwards instead of forwards, staying like that ever since.

"I like it too, it makes up for that disgusting yellow sweater she likes to wear," Madi referred to the yellow hooded sweater Saria was wearing. "That girl is one of the nicest people I've ever met but her taste in clothes is terrible."

"Um, _I _bought her that," Link frowned.

"Oh, well that explains it, Saria would wear garbage if it was from you. I'm surprised you can pick decent clothes for yourself," the Fairy commented on his short-sleeved dark green shirt and long, black trousers he liked to wear whenever he could. "Why don't you wear your hat anymore?"

"I just grew out of it, I suppose. And it's one less place for people like you to hide under." Leaving the animals to entertain themselves, Link made his way into the main room of the temple where he took a seat on the low wall in the centre. Taking something from his pocket, he continued what he had been doing before Madi had interrupted him.

"What have you got there?" Madi followed him inside.

"It's something I'm making for Saria," he held up a bracelet made out of twisted vines and various flowers. "I enchanted it so they won't wilt and I made these," he took out two small charms, one was a golden sun that glistened when it caught the light and the other was a miniature version of Perri.

"Those are cute, what are they for?"

"They're charms to go on the bracelet, each one represents one year we've been together," Link explained, taking the charm of the sun and attaching it to the vines. "The sun represents the first year, the time in Meldora - a new beginning. Perri represents al the flying we did last year and the peaceful months."

"But haven't you two known each other longer than two years?" Madi asked, landing on the wall next to him.

"Yeah, I'm only counting years we've been boyfriend and girlfriend though since if I counted them all, I'd be making a jumper not a bracelet." Taking the Perri charm, he attached it next to the sun. "I'll make a new one every year until it gets full."

"When are you giving it to her?" the golden Fairy had to know everything about everyone to be satisfied.

"Well, we're going to that sword display today, then Malon wants to cut my hair since she didn't have time yesterday, so it will have to be tomorrow. We could go to the lake, or maybe Death Mountain summit; Saria likes the view there."

"I can't believe Saria is going to that display with you, doesn't she hate swords?"

"No, she doesn't hate them, a sword saved her life more than once and besides, it was her idea to go watch it." Pocketing the bracelet, Link stood up to stretch his arms. "Speaking of the display, we should warp there soon if we want to get good spots. Would you ask Saria to meet me here if you're going back to the Deku Sprout?"

"Yeah sure, but can't you message her yourself?" Madi made her way towards the temple entrance.

"I could but she's doing something with the Deku Sprout. The last time I messaged her during that, the sprout was a little angry."

"Oh ok, I'll tell her for you, as long as I can come with you today."

"Sorry Madi, you know you have guardian training today," Link reminded her.

"I know. I love it here but sometimes it's so boring! The Deku Sprout said we'll be taking our training slowly since there won't be any new Kokiris for at least a century. I don't think I can wait that long!" Fluttering past Link, Madi said something he wasn't expecting. "You and Saria need to hurry up and have kids so I can be their guardian!"

"Uh, I think we're a bit young for that," a bright shade of red crept onto Link's face.

"What! You're both over a century old!"

"In Kokiri years, not Hylian. We're not doing that just to satisfy your boredom!" Now, are you going to tell Saria or not?"

"Alright, alright, I'm going," Madi huffed, flying off towards the village.

* * *

"Saria! Are you finished?" Madi flew into the Deku Sprout's Meadow where the Forest Sage was sat cross-legged next to the chatting sprout.

"Yeah, we are for now," Saria smiled. "Did Link like that picture?"

"Yep! What were you doing?" Landing on the shoulder of Saria's light green top, she sighed with happiness; she liked this colour.

"We were practising control of the weather in the forest. I can do nice weather with ease, but can't get the hang of rain," Saria explained.

"You just need to channel your anger into it," the Deku Sprout chuckled.

"What do I have to be angry about?"

"Having a boyfriend who buys you awful sweaters for one," Madi grinned, she would never shut up about that sweater.

"I like that sweater," Saria frowned, lightly flicking Madi from her shoulder.

"Link isn't here so there's no need to pretend you like it. He wanted me to tell you to meet him in the meadow so you could go have lives, unlike me," Madi mumbled, flying into the old Deku Tree's branches where some of the Fairies liked to live.

"Okay, thanks for telling me. I'll go get my sweater before we go," Saria smirked, knowing Madi would be making a face of disapproval behind the leaves.

Making her way further into the leaves, Madi entered a small room carved inside the trunk of the tree. Wandering in, she took a seat on one of the tiny logs Fairies used as chairs and looked around. At the other side sat an older, light blue male Fairy fast asleep on a long log chair; his mass of dark, curly hair falling into his closed eyes. Deciding she would cure her boredom for a few seconds Madi skipped over to him, took a deep breath and shouted.

"HEY NORI, WAKE UP!"

The blue Fairy shot out of his seat, smacking his head against the low ceiling of the room.

"Ouch, what did you do that for?" he mumbled, rubbing his sore head.

"Hehe, I'm sorry, I was so bored and saw you lying there; the opportunity was too good to pass up," taking a seat next to him, she shot him a concerned look. "Saria was outside, I know she would've loved to see you."

"Yeah, I know," Nori looked away, trying not to make eye contact with her.

"You don't know how lucky you are," Madi folded her arms. "You have the Deku Sprout's permission to go out of the forest with Saria and yet here you are hiding away in a tree!"

"Sara doesn't want me in the way and it's not that simple anyway," Nori stood up to leave, he wasn't in the mood to be pestered.

"Of course she does! Even Link wants you around but you always say you're doing something else. One day that chance will be gone, then you'll be wishing you'd done-" Madi would have gone on if a loud, male voice hadn't suddenly entered the room.

"Make way for Kodalicious, ladies!" a bright purple light burst towards the back of the room, slamming into a surprised Madi.

"Koda, you bigheaded jerk!" Madi screamed, untangling herself from him.

"You're just jealous because I got my guardian colour and you haven't," he grinned, turning around so she could get a full view of his new purple glow.

"Congratulations," Nori smiled. "Although, I always pictured you as a red colour or perhaps a deep orange." he took in the new look of the young Fairy. Koda had always been a show off so getting his new powers before Madi must have been a dream come true. He couldn't work out from one day to the next if he and Madi were friends or not; some days they got on fine while on others they would be tearing shreds out of each other.

"What colour do you think I'll get?" Madi couldn't wait to receive her colour.

"Grey, like your soul!" Koda laughed.

"Whatever. Did you know you have a hair out of place?" she turned around, trying to hide her laughter.

"What! Where?" the purple Fairy exclaimed, his hands moving up to his perfect hair with not a tangle in sight, not a strand out of place.

"She's pulling your leg," Nori moved past them to leave. "Oh and Madi? You'll get pink, trust me on that one. Now, I'm going to stretch my wings, don't get into too much trouble."

"Trouble? Us? Never!" Madi grinned after Nori had left. "I really was teasing," she watched the frantic Koda checking to see if each piece of hair was in place.

"Huh? Oh, I-I know," he took a seat at the back of the room, struggling to keep his hands away from his hair. "What are you doing today?"

"The usual, being bored, being bored and did I mention being bored?" Madi sat next to him.

"Well, I was going to show all the girls my new powers but none of them are here," Koda huffed. "And I don't need to show you since you already know I'll make a better guardian than you ever will."

"I'd like to see you prove it!" Madi shifted a few inches away from him, his voice already starting to annoy her.

"How do you expect me to do that?" he wondered what reply she would have ready this time.

"Simple, Saria and Link are going out tomorrow so we sneak along with them! I want you to name every creature we see along the way."

"But they won't want us tagging along," Koda had a feeling she had the answer to that.

"Ah yes, but not if they don't know! I say we hide in their clothing, but what piece is the question?" she thought it over for a moment. "Link's clothes are so full of junk we wouldn't be able to hide anywhere. Saria's shorts wouldn't do, nor her top so, as much as I hate to admit it, Saria's sweater will come in useful for once. It has this huge pocket on the side which she rarely uses, if we can sneak into that we'll be ready."

"One problem, I just saw Saria leave her house with the sweater around her waist."

"I'm not suggesting now, silly! When they get back I'm sure Saria will leave it in her house again before her and Link go to the meadow to make out or whatever they do in the evenings, that is when we move in!"

"To stay in a pocket all night?" Koda gulped, this girl was going to kill him.

"If you can't walk the walk… " Madi knew that would persuade him.

"Oh I can! I'll hop, skip and jump it too!"

"I knew you'd see things my way in the end, Koda. Tomorrow we'll see once and for all if you live up to your bragging," Blowing some of his hair out of place, she laughed, skipping off to find someone else to entertain her.

* * *

The market was busier than usual that morning, crowds had gathered in the main square for the sword display which would be taking place in less than an hour. Standing in front of the Shooting Gallery with a small crate of milk in her arms, a redheaded girl tried to knock on the door without dropping anything.

"I wish Dad would hire some decent help to carry these crates," Malon mumbled, glad that the gallery hadn't ordered a lot of milk that week. About to knock on the door, she got an unpleasant shock when a gang of boys around her age came piling out of the place, crashing into her causing the crate to go flying to the ground with a smash.

"Whoops, you should watch where you're going farm girl," the boy in front laughed, walking away before she could get a good look at him.

"I should watch where _I'm _going?" Malon fumed. Kneeling down she sighed when she saw milk leaking out of the bottom of the box, soaking her new cream work dress.

"Do you need some help?" another male voice asked.

"I don't need anything from you stupid boys. When Dad finds out about this, he'll be straight down here so fast…" she trailed off, realising this was Talon she was talking about.

"I'm sorry about my friend's lack of manners," the boy knelt down next to her.

"Yeah, well, you should be," Malon went to pick up the crate to find he had already done it. Glancing ahead she saw his large, brown boots beneath dark, baggy trousers leading up to yet more brown, with his tattered brown jacket. Picking herself off the ground, she came face to face with a pair of concerned hazel eyes, but the thing that caught her attention most was his long, black hair tied behind him. "How long did it take you to grow that?" she asked, forgetting her anger.

"My hair? About five years," he brought it over his shoulder to show her, the neatly tied ponytail running down to the base of his back.

"I don't see many guys in Hyrule with hair that long," Malon sounded impressed.

"I guess I never bothered to get it cut," he smiled. "I'm Shinro by the way."

"Malon," Malon said, still admiring his hair.

"My friends and I were going to get some drinks, would you like to come? It's the least I can do after we broke your crate."

"Sure, that would be good," she nodded. "Would you help me carry this back to my wagon first?"

"No problem," Shinro followed her towards the exit of the market, a snide voice echoing behind them.

"Hey look, Avalois has taken to helping peasants!" the voice belonged to the same boy who had been rude to Malon in the beginning.

Closing his eyes, Shinro ignored the comment.

"Avalois? Where have I heard that name?" Malon stopped to think. "Oh, I remember! General Avalois! Wow, you're the General of the Hylian army!"

"Not quite," he laughed lightly. "I'm his son."

"Right, sorry," Malon mentally slapped herself for thinking someone so young could lead an army. "Um, anyway, let's get this to the wagon."

The gang of boys entered a backstreet café they had arranged to go to that morning. Pushing his way through the crowds, the one in front lead the others to the only free table in the room where they all managed to squeeze around it.

"No room for Avalois? Oh well, that's his own fault for wasting time with the lower class," he smirked, glancing around the table at the group who were all wearing similar clothes to Shinro. Looking over at the table next to theirs, he caught sight of a green-haired girl sitting alone, her attention focused on the menu in front of her. "She's cute," he leaned in to whisper to his friends. "Who wants to bet I can get her to go on a date with me? How about one hundred Rupees?"

"Heh, there's no way you'll get her to go anywhere with you." one of the boys said.

"We'll see about that," he grinned, leaving the table to move onto the next.

Saria had been pretending to read the menu the whole time the boys had been huddled together over their table, she knew they must have been plotting something but didn't expect one to get up and move over to her table. His mixture of orange and yellow hair made her think of dancing flames as he sat down opposite her, his emerald eyes staring at her in a way that reminded her of Mido.

"Hey, are you new to these parts since I would remember a pretty face like yours," he initiated the conversation.

"Sort of," Saria replied, ignoring his bad attempt at a chat up line. "I'm here to see the sword display."

"Oh? That's a lucky coincidence, my friends and I are the ones putting it on," he nodded his head towards the boys. "The name's Yarick, Yarick Denilon. I'm the son of one of the highest ranking officers in the Hylian army, I've even met Princess Zelda."

"How wonderful for you," she smiled, trying not to sound sarcastic.

"So, do you have a name or will I have to guess it?" Yarick leaned both arms on the table.

"Saria," Sara said, hoping Link would hurry up with the drinks.

"What family are you from?"

"Family...?" she blinked.

"You know, your last name." Yarick thought she must be foreign not to know that.

"Oh, um," Saria let her eyes drop onto the drinks menu, reading the first name she came across. "Cappuccino."

"Saria Cappuccino? Can't say I've heard of you before. My family comes from a long line of fire mages, most of them end up in Arbiter's for not controlling themselves though, but not me!" he gave a proud smile. "My friends know me as Phoenix, you'll see why if you come to the display. Will you be going alone?"

"No, I'm going with my boyfriend."

Yarick's face paled but he managed to recompose himself before she noticed, his mind insisting that it was only a boyfriend, not a husband.

"Boyfriend, huh? What's his name? I might know him."

"Link…" Saria's eyes switched to the snack menu, "Croissant."

"Croissant? Man, you people have some unusual names. How about you ditch him after the display and come out with me?"

"I don't think so," she inwardly sighed with relief when Link came over with their milkshakes.

"Hello, who are you?" Link smiled, taking a seat next to Saria.

"Yarick and you must be Link Croissant," Yarick took in Link's appearance.

"Um?" Link had no idea what was going on.

_Just play along._ Saria messaged him.

"Oh, yes, that's me," Link nodded, taking his straw and twirling it around in the glass.

After their trip to the wagon, Malon and Shinro finally arrived in the café.

"Hey, Link! Saria!" Malon shouted across the room to get their attention. "I want you to meet my new friend Shinro."

"No wonder I didn't know you two, you hang around on the wrong side of town." Yarick leaned back in his chair.

"We what?" Link scowled, this guy was already annoying him.

"Are you ignoring me?" Malon weaved her way over to the table, taking a seat next to Saria while Shinro sat next to Link.

"Of course not," Saria welcomed her. "Nice to meet you Shinro."

"Yeah, we wouldn't ignore you," Link said, still staring down Yarick who was giving Shinro death glares.

Knowing when he wasn't wanted, Yarick stood up to go back to his group.

"I'll see you at the display, Avalois, you better be ready because someone is going to get their ass kicked today."

"I don't like his attitude," Link mumbled.

"You get used to him," Shinro said barely in a whisper. "And speaking of the display, I really should go get ready for it."

"Wait a minute and we'll come too!" Malon chirped, giving him a look that wouldn't take no for an answer.

* * *

The wealthier side of town wasn't a place Link, Saria or Malon went unless it was absolutely necessary, and for good reason. Zelda herself had always warned them that even though the war had been over for years, not everyone in Hyrule got along. Money was the main dividing factor between the two sides of the market, you either had it or you didn't, and if you didn't the majority of the upper class wouldn't acknowledge your existence. The princess wanted to change this by the time she came to power but so far it wasn't going very well.

"It's like stepping into another world when you come here," Link commented on the row of extravagant houses that formed their own square away from the main market.

Leading them to the house in the far left corner, Shinro took out a key to open the large iron gate surrounding the front garden.

"Welcome home Master Shinro," one of the gardeners greeted him from behind a hedge he was trimming.

"Thanks," he smiled. Turning his back on the others to unlock the front door, he hoped he had cleaned enough that morning. It wasn't often he had people back to his house since he didn't have many friends; the ones he did have only used him to get to talk to his father.

"Wow," Malon almost passed out when she saw the sitting room. Everything was in place without a speck of dust in sight. Taking a seat in one of the huge armchairs near the fireplace, she enjoyed the feeling of the plush carpet beneath her feet. "Your cleaners do an amazing job!"

"Cleaners? I did this by myself," Shinro grinned. "Mom and Dad work most of the day so I do most of the cleaning, in between training of course."

"Ooh," Malon was impressed. "Are you for hire? I'd love some help cleaning at the ranch."

"You work at a ranch…?" Shinro only knew of one ranch in Hyrule but Malon couldn't work at that, could she?

"Yep! My family owns Lon Lon Ranch, I thought it was obvious. You did see the Lon Lon name on the milk crate, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't expect Mal-I mean you, to be so pr-never mind," he blushed then turned to Link and Saria who had been listening to their conversation the whole time. "If you three want to head up to my training room, I'll join you in a minute. It's the first room you come to at the top of the stairs."

"How does this guy train? There's barely any room to move," Link said as they entered the room which was filled to the brim with every weapon a knight of Hyrule would need. Polished Hylian shields lined the stone, grey walls along with a few long swords and spears. The floor was reserved for larger weapons, some Link had never seen before, such as ball and chains and enormous axes almost as tall as him. Moving to the back of the room, something caught his eye high up on the wall.

"Is that…?" Saria asked, joining him by the wall.

"Yeah, a picture of the Master Sword," Link hadn't been expecting to see that blade again.

"I know it's only a myth, but it's every knight's dream to wield that blade," Shinro said when he entered the room. "Are you interested in swords Link?"

"You could say that," Link turned to face him.

"What about other stuff? Let me show you my new favourite weapon," Shinro dove into the pile of ball and chains bringing out two smaller ones, each with a set of spikes around the balls. Placing his hand in the only place on the ball where the spikes didn't cover, he flung each at a wall then span them over his head where he prepared to fling them again. "It took me a while to learn how to handle them, but once you do these things can be a deadly weapon."

"Oh cool, can I try?" Link asked.

"I don't know, you can't just pick these things up and be great with them in one go," Shinro didn't want any bleeding hands to come out of this.

"He's a fast learner," Saria insisted.

"Well, alright, but I did warn you," he handed the chains to Link.

Positioning them in his hands the same way Shinro had, Link began. Flinging one towards the walls, he caught it easily then threw the other which came back in the same way. Swinging both around over his head, he threw one to the left and the other to the right, both moving to his every command.

"Hmm, you're right, they aren't easy to use," Link smiled, letting the chains drop out of his hands.

Shinro couldn't believe his eyes, he had to wipe them to make sure he wasn't seeing things. This boy had come into his home and been able to master something he himself had taken months to perfect.

"We like to have the help of volunteers in our displays sometimes, if you're any good with a sword, you'd be the perfect choice."

"Swords? Oh no, I'm not that good," Link shot Saria a smirk. "But I wouldn't mind giving it a try. What would I have to do?"

"Well, we usually hold spars to show our skills," Shinro dragged the ball and chains back to their place. "Yarick likes to think he's the best fighter we have; although, one day, it would be nice if someone shut him up."

"And are girls not invited to join this 'display'?" Malon stood by the door, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Sure, but we don't get much interest from girls. Why? Were you thinking of starting?" Shinro asked a surprised Malon.

"Um, no. I was just making sure that if I wanted to, I would be welcomed!" Turning to leave, Malon shuffled out of the room.

"I'll tell Yarick to go easy on you if he decides he wants to fight you," Shinro nodded to Link before leaving to find Malon.

"Link…" Saria started.

"I know, I'll use my right hand to make it fair, don't want to kill them do I?"

"No not that. I was gong to say, if you do fight Yarick be sure to give him a fee wounds, just little ones," she smiled.

"Oh, I will," he put an arm around her. "I will."


	2. Gold, Silver and Amber

The blustering winds of the scorching desert wrapped around a group of Gerudo girls in their mid-teens as they followed their queen, Nabooru into the Spirit Temple. It was tradition that when a girl came of age in the Gerudo race, she would be expected to travel to their temple where Nabooru would give a tour and teach them of how the temple was used in Gerudo history.

"I'm sixteen in a couple of months and only now I'm being taken to the temple," a girl in the centre of the group said, her unkempt, orange shoulder-length hair clinging to her face as another gust of wind whirled around them. "I guess I had to wait for the rest of you to catch up with me," she grinned, putting her arms behind her head.

"Actually, it's because I didn't think you were ready for it as soon as you turned fifteen, Tanith," Nabooru smirked, she knew the girl hated being called by her first name.

"Heh, Lady Nabooru put Amber in her place," one of the girls whispered to another.

The girl referred to as Amber folded her arms, sending scowls at Nabooru's back. People only used her first name when they wanted to annoy her but no matter how angry she became, she would never dare answer back to her queen.

"And what did I tell you about your clothing today?" Nabooru turned to face Amber. "I don't remember telling you to wear a sleeveless top that shows as much of your stomach as possible and those trousers that barely reach your ankles. We need to dress appropriately for entering the temple but you'll have to go as you are now."

"Please excuse me Lady Nabooru, I forgot," Amber mumbled. She had to admit she had been wondering why they were all dressed like they were going to take a trip to the Ice Cavern, and in that hot weather too.

Leaving Amber to her thoughts, Nabooru led them into the temple entrance hall where a series of awed gasps came from the group. Seeing it in pictures was one thing, but actually being there was like something none of the girls had experienced before.

"Heads up!" Nabooru warned when one of the pots in the room flew into the air, flying straight towards the group. Hearing a smash behind her, she turned around expecting to see the remains of the pot lying against the wall, instead, she saw the smashed pot in front of Amber, the girl's fist outstretched in front of her. "I see you've been training," Nabooru complimented her.

"Just a little," Amber nodded. Unlike most of the other Gerudos, Amber had always preferred to rely on her fists rather than swords or other weapons. Everyday she would lock herself away in her room in the fortress to practice while the other girls were out training with spears and at horseback combat. Her mother had been so proud when she had punched a hole through the wall of their living quarters, even if it did mean they needed to rebuild the wall.

Ushering them through the first few rooms, Nabooru pointed out various artefacts and objects that may interest them.

"I thought we were going to see some awesome treasures and fight temple monsters, not look at boring old bricks and doors," Amber whispered to the girl next to her.

"Yeah but this is interesting too," the girl replied.

"Speak for yourself," Amber wiped the sweat from her brow.

"You may have also heard about the Silver Gauntlets, they will grant you access to deeper parts of the temple allowing the user to move large objects out of their path. But, in order to use them, you must find them first. Hidden somewhere in the temple, they are one of our race's finest treasures." Nabooru explained, pointing to a picture of the gauntlets engraved in the wall.

"Move heavy objects, huh?" something clicked in Amber's head as she looked at her hands. She had this idea in her mind that she was as strong as she was going to get now, the only way to become stronger was to find something that could aid her, something like those gauntlets. "Hey, could you do something for me?" she nudged her friend.

"Alright, what did you want?"

"If Lady Nabooru notices I'm gone, will you tell her I went outside to use the sand or something?"

"What? Where are you going?" the other girl knew Amber was up to no good.

"To find those gauntlets!" Amber hissed into her ear.

"Are you insane? This place is full of traps, you'll never find them!"

"I've been training for months, I know I can make it through without too much trouble. When I have those things I'll be able to travel the kingdom! No enemy will be too tough for the might of my fists!" she spotted a door leading deeper into the temple on the other side of the room, when the group moved the other way she would break away.

"Forget monsters, you're not very good at interacting with other people Amber, you know that temper of yours always gets you into… situations."

"Huh? Everyone gets on with me! Okay, apart from people who are nothing like me but what are the chances of me meeting one of them in a massive kingdom?" Seeing the group moving she gave her friend a wave, slipping into the opposite doorway.

* * *

Saria stood near the fountain in the market, taking a sip of her second milkshake, she watched Malon hovering over by Shinro as he showed some excited spectators the new weapons he had acquired. Leaving him to his fans, Malon skipped over to the fountain with a smile on her face.

"So did you ask him to come to the ranch after the display?" Saria asked, waving at Link when she saw him practicing with the Gilded Sword.

"You think I should? I don't want to come on too strong…" Malon didn't have any other male friends apart from Link so she wasn't used to dealing with them.

"I didn't mean you had to invite him over for a romantic evening of cleaning, after all, you've only known him for a few hours."

"I know but unlike some people, I don't want to wait a century for my first kiss," Malon smirked, seeing Saria almost choking on the milkshake.

"It wasn't a century, it was longer!" Saria replied. "Anyway, I have a feeling if you don't ask he'll go back home and clean some more."

"You're right, I must ask him to come clean with me instead. I wonder if he wants his hair trimmed?" Taking out her new pictobox, Malon started snapping pictures of everything she saw, including Saria's milkshake.

"We should get some good spots before the crowds move in," Saria said before Malon could start taking pictures of the floor.

"You ready for a beating, Avalois?" Yarick strutted over to Shinro, a large sheath strapped to his back.

"I won't be fighting you today, I've found a new challenger for you," Shinro pointed over to Link.

"Croissant, eh? Is he any good?"

"No idea but he can use a ball and chain like a pro."

"Any monkey can swing a ball and chain, it takes skill to wield a sword," Yarick snorted. "I could use an easy warm up though," he nodded to the other boys then took out a long, thin blade from his sheath. "You guys show the people the weapons while me and Link take centre stage."

Moving into the centre of the crowd, Yarick ran a cloth along the long blade; it was the only thing from Shinro that had rubbed off on him, to keep his weapons clean.

"My family crafted this blade," he gave it a swing, his hand clasped tightly around the black hilt.

"Oh? That's funny since mine did too," Link shifted the Gilded Sword into his right hand.

"Your family members must be pretty small then," Yarick smirked. "Don't you have anything bigger?"

"This will be fine," Link grit his teeth, he hated to admit it but Yarick was right. The older he became, the smaller the sword seemed, it was only a matter of time before he would have to put it back where he found it. "What are the rules?" he asked, pushing his thoughts to one side.

"Nobody dies," Shinro's voice came from the other side of the crowd, his remark directed at Yarick more than Link. "And no cutting off limbs."

"Spoil all the fun as usual, Avalois," Yarick grinned. "Well, whatever, let's get this started." Without warning, he lunged forward with his sword outstretched ready to send a stab straight into Link's chest.

Predicting such an obvious move, Link sidestepped the attack, sending his blade into Yarick's as it came down in the spot he'd been standing. Both boys met in a clash of metal, neither able to land a hit on the other, neither backing down the longer the fight went on. Link was surprised at how skilled Yarick was, the boy blocked his every move easily, hitting back with more strength than most enemies Link had fought over the years. Of course, he knew if he changed hands the whole fight would turn in his favour but he was enjoying the practice with his other hand too much to think about changing.

_Where did this guy come from? _Yarick thought to himself as Link dodged another of his slashes. _He's matching me move for move, something not many people can do. Guess I'll have to get serious. _Reaching into his sheath once more, Yarick brought out a second sword which was identical to the first. "Let's see how you handle this, foreign boy."

"This is so amazing!"

"Yeah, I haven't seen a spar this good for ages!"

Saria could hear people in the crowd exclaiming, Malon on the other hand was too busy snapping away with her pictobox to even hear the thoughts in her own head.

"I've always had a thing for Yarick but who's the new guy? He's cute!" a group of girls chatted not too far from the front.

Saria took another sip of her milkshake, ignoring the talk about her boyfriend.

"He is! Do you think he has a girlfriend?"

Saria frowned but carried on drinking.

"Probably. One for everyday of the week I'd say."

Chocolate milkshake sprayed everywhere the moment she heard those words.

"Gee Saria, if you didn't like it you didn't have to spit it all over the place," Malon giggled.

Back flipping out of the way of Yarick's swords, Link took a chance by sidestepping out of his reach and parrying around behind him only to narrowly miss the chance of landing a hit. Springing to his feet, he frowned knowing this could go on all day unless something drastic happened. By the look on his face, Yarick knew that too.

"I was saving this for Avalois but I didn't expect you to be so good," Yarick reached into his sheath bringing out two more thin blades slightly shorter than his first pair. Placing each short sword in either hand with the long swords, an immense energy started building around him.

"I didn't think he'd do that…" Shinro said, standing near Malon and Saria.

"Do what?" Malon blinked.

"He's preparing to use his signature technique, nobody our age can evade that!"

"Oh no! What if Link gets hurt!" Malon dropped the pictobox.

"It will be okay, Link can handle it," Saria smiled.

"I think it's sweet you have so much confidence in him, but there is a line between here and crazy land." Malon huffed, picking up her pictobox.

Link could feel the heat generating from the four swords, backing slowly away, he gasped when all four burst into flames which danced along the blades. Cutting out the usual chat he would make people suffer through before he attacked, Yarick back flipped across the arena letting his swords scorch the ground beneath him. Flinging himself backwards one final time, he launched himself into the air, the swords whirling around him like burning wings. Spinning faster and faster, he gradually built up speed, ready for his descent. Down below, Link could sense what was coming, he knew he'd have mere seconds to dodge this attack but couldn't work out how. Watching Yarick's movements, something hit him; all of the flames were pointing downwards so any chance of rolling under would result in a nasty burn, however, there was nothing stopping him from going over the top.

"I can't watch!" Malon screamed, grabbing a startled Shinro by the arm.

Turning his back on Yarick, Link flipped himself into a handstand and closed his eyes, this was the point where he waited. He could feel the heat increasing the more Yarick span, any second now…

Yarick threw himself into a dive thinking Link was going to be an easy target, he would send the boy flying into the crowds with one slash from each of his burning swords.

Just as Yarick was about to make contact, Link pressed down against the ground then pushed up, sending his body straight up over a stunned Yarick who couldn't believe what he was seeing. Twisting around in mid-air, Link took his sword, slashing a light gash across Yarick's lower back.

"Arrggh!" The boy exclaimed, crashing along the ground in pain. Pushing himself up, he found his back wasn't bleeding at all, Link had only scraped along the skin which confused him since he'd never had a wound that stung so much.

Shinro was about to step in to end the fight but was stopped by Yarick.

"No, we're not finished!" Yarick sheathed the two short swords. He refused to believe someone could dodge his greatest technique without even breaking a sweat, leaving him almost on the floor from all the energy he'd used. Flinging himself at Link, Yarick let himself be driven by the anger remaining inside. "You know, Avalois, if you weren't such a wimp you could be a real somebody," he barely dodged a slash from Link. "But you have to go and hang around with losers instead. This is why you'll never make General like your father wants you to, you're too weak, a spineless coward."

Link frowned, he hadn't known Shinro for long but he did know he didn't deserve to be talked to in that way.

"And then you start mixing with girls like her," his attention shifted to Malon. "Someone who probably has trouble spelling her own name."

Link's eyes narrowed, this guy did not just insult one of his best friends. Giving him a harsh shove, he hoped it would be a warning to shut up but Yarick continued regardless.

"Although, I assume she knows what last names are, unlike certain others. Your girlfriend is a nice piece of eye candy but that's where it ends, right?"

Link's patience snapped. Flipping himself behind Yarick, the Gilded Sword flew into the air, being caught by his left hand where the blade became engulfed in a stream of blinding blue energy. Within seconds, Yarick's right sword had been slashed out of his grasp, the left one following close behind leaving him defenceless. Images of the Gilded Sword slicing Yarick's head clean off burst into Link's mind, that was when it ended. Letting the sword drop to the floor, he fell to his knees with his hands over his head, he wouldn't let the anger overtake him no matter how much he wanted to.

Seeing his chance to return the wounds Link had caused him, Yarick reached for his short swords only to receive a fist to the back of his head in the process.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT HITTING A MAN WHEN HE'S DOWN, BOY!" a voice boomed into his ears.

"To only attack in a life or death situation, General sir," Yarick dropped his swords. He'd been concentrating so much on winning that he hadn't noticed the General coming over to them.

"And is this one of those situations?" the voice softened but remained firm.

"N-no sir." Picking up his weapons, he backed away from Link who was still on the ground.

"I was watching from a distance and I must say, I've never seen anyone use a blade with such skill as you. What is your name young man?" The General knelt down next to Link, his heavy armour clanking with each movement.

"Link, sir," Link turned his head to come face to face with a huge man clad in Hylian armour, the only physical features visible were his dark eyes.

"Link…?" For a moment it was as if time itself had frozen, the General couldn't take his eyes off Link. "Have we met before?"

"I-I don't think so."

"Hmm, well, someone with your talent is exactly what the army needs. We'll be interviewing new recruits this afternoon, you're a little young but exceptions can be made. Why don't you come along?"

Yarick looked furious, he'd been trying to get the General's attention for months when this guy just comes along and gets offered the one thing he'd always wanted.

"Thank you for the offer, sir, but I have other plans today," Link reached behind to grab his sword.

"Alright but if you change your mind, head up to the castle and tell them I sent for you, they won't give you any problems then." Getting to his feet, the General glanced around the square, wondering where his son had gotten to.

Sheathing his sword, Link sent Yarick a scowl before walking away to find Saria and Malon which didn't take long.

"Link!" Saria exclaimed, running towards him. Putting her arms around his neck, she kissed him before he had a chance to breathe, making the group of fan girls nearby move on in disappointment.

"Hello," he smiled, returning the kiss.

"Hey, Link!" Shinro called across the market.

"Somebody is in high demand," Malon grinned, taking more pictures.

"I have something I'd like to give you," the dark-haired boy caught up to them, the spiked ball and chains wrapped around his waist. "I want you to have these," he held them out to Link.

"But you love those, I can't take them."

"I can get another set and even if I couldn't, I'd still want you to have them. The look on Yarick's face when you dodged his attacks was priceless!" Shinro shoved them at Link who had no choice but to accept them.

"Now, it's time we went to the ranch for your haircut, Link!" Malon squealed. "You'll come too, right Shinro?"

"You want me to?" he hadn't been expecting to be asked anywhere.

All three nodded in reply.

"Okay then, just let me ask my dad and I'll meet you at the market entrance."

* * *

Amber groaned in pain, sliding down against the wall in an empty room of the temple. Her friend had been right when she said the place was full of traps. A vicious floor master had tried to strangle her in the previous room, she had somehow managed to wrestle it to the floor and punch it to death.

"I must be close to the highest room by now," she looked above at the blank ceiling. "I guess that's where all the good stuff is kept." Pushing herself up, she walked over to the next door, ready to face the next challenge within.

Behind the door was a set of stairs which spiralled upwards towards the highest rooms in the temple, it wouldn't be long before she got her hands on those gauntlets. Taking the first step, she was sure she could feel a presence near, as if someone or something was watching her. Shrugging the feeling off, she broke into a run, almost tripping up the last couple of steps. Crashing through the door at the top she gasped at the sight before her.

The room was much more formal than the rest of the temple. A red carpet covered a section of the floor giving it a royal feel, while sparkling jewels lined the walls, glistening in the sunlight that crept in from the furthest exit which led out to the temple summit. At the far end of the room stood an iron knuckle, its hands crossed in front of its chest. Moving closer, Amber's eyes widened when she saw what the knuckle was wearing on its hands - the Silver Gauntlets!

"Damn it, how am I supposed to get them off that thing?" Amber had never fought an iron knuckle but knew they came alive at the lightest touch. Looking around for something that could help, she almost lost hope until she glanced upwards. There, stuck to the ceiling was the most amazing shield she had had the privilege of seeing. Sharp diamonds lined the golden rim which circled around a solid silver centre where a large sun was engraved, gleaming brightly, as if calling to her to reach for it. Leaning against one of the pillars, she tried to work out how to get at it, then had an idea. Turning around, she sent a fist into the middle of the pillar causing part of the ceiling to crumble down over her. Punching it again, she jumped back when the whole thing collapsed leaving a perfect step for her to climb onto.

"Better not do that again, whole ceiling might fall on top of me," she mumbled. Getting her balance on the low pillar, she turned towards the shield and leapt for it, her hands gripping the edge of the weapon. It was all going to plan, until the shield started to burn her skin, steam seeping out from beneath her grasp.

"Argh, what the fu-?" she could hardly speak from the immense pain throbbing through her fingers. "There's no way I'm letting you go!" She screamed, twisting the rim with all the strength she had left. It took a while but eventually, Amber and the scorching shield tumbled to the floor with a thud, the shield still refusing to let her hold it without burning her. "You're one stubborn bitch, aren't you? Well, no one gets one over on me, so you'll let me use you whether you like it or not!"

Shifting the shield in front of herself, Amber walked towards the knuckle hoping it would hit the shield and not her if she woke it. Preparing for a fight, she ran a hand along one of the gauntlets, and just as she'd predicted, the iron knuckle opened its eyes, thrashing straight at her. Leaping back, she held the shield up letting it take the first hits from the knuckle's axe. Ducking under another of its axe swings, she sent a foot into its chest sending it off balance long enough for her to move away.

"Ugh, this is impossible! And you're no help!" She shook the shield in her temper, the rim still burning her aching hands. Holding it the best she could, she span around in her rage, building up speed as she did. Letting go of the shield, she watched in awe as it span towards the thrashing knuckle, slicing its head right off in one clean sweep. "Now, that was more like it!"

The moment the shield sliced through the head, the sun in the centre started glowing a brilliant gold, so bright it filled the room with its yellow light.

"Um…" Amber had no idea what was going on. Moving to get the gauntlets, she nearly fell forward when a burning sensation shot through her body. The shield hovered up from where it had fallen and span over to her, coming to rest at her side. Forgetting how annoyed she was, Amber placed a hand on the rim getting a shock when it didn't burn her. "I guess you came around after all, eh?" She smiled. New gauntlets and a new shield, it was her lucky day.

* * *

"There, all done!" Malon announced after finishing with Link's hair. "I cut a good bit off but left enough for Saria to run her hands through since she loves doing that."

Link turned bright red while Saria pulled her hood down over her face to hide the laughing.

"You did a great job, Malon," Shinro smiled.

"Yeah," Link looked at himself in the mirror, not being able to tell what she'd actually done but he wasn't going to complain.

"Do you want anything done, Shinro?" Malon had been dying to get the chance to touch his hair.

"Um, not really… but you could tidy it up a bit," he took a seat in front of the mirror Malon had moved into the barn.

"Okay then! So five years, huh?" she started brushing through his hair.

"Yeah, my hair grows quite slowly so if I ever end up cutting it, it will take ages to grow back."

"I can imagine," Malon grabbed a scissors from the floor. "I'm just going to tidy up some of your loose ends now," she got to work snipping at pieces of his hair. "I've been practising this for years, so don't worry about a thing. Isn't that right?" she turned to face the others.

"Oh, yes, Malon is amazing, so much so that she should be getting paid," Saria said from beneath her hood, slightly exaggerating.

"Aw Saria, you don't need to flatter me!" Malon blushed. Turning her attention away from Shinro's hair again, she glanced at some cows shuffling about in their stalls. "I hope you cows are going to behave!" her hand shifted from a strand of Shinro's hair, to his whole ponytail she had been holding out of the way.

"Um, Mal-" Link was about to warn her but she ignored him

_Snip_

The scissors cut through the ponytail in one quick motion.

Moving her hand away, Malon gasped when five years of hair came with it.

"Oh my gosh!" she screamed, throwing a cloth over Shinro's face so he couldn't see the mirror.

"Having these loose ends cut off makes my hair feel a lot lighter," Shinro commented, unaware of what was going on above the cloth. "Is there something wrong?" he asked in reply to her scream.

"No, nothing's wrong! I just realised it's lunch time and I haven't started the food!" Pressing his ponytail back against his head, Malon had the idea that it would magically reattach itself, but no such luck. She had ruined five years of beautiful hair in one foul movement and she really did need to start lunch too.


	3. A Burning Memory

Shinro sat leaning against the barn wall in silence. In one hand he held five years worth of hair while in his other, he held a small key ring made up of two Hylian swords, their blades crossing each other at the top. It still hadn't sunk in about the loss of his hair but for some reason, he wasn't as upset as he thought he would have been in that situation. He could hear Malon fussing inside the house, they hadn't spoken much since the others had left which made him wonder if she wanted him to stay or not.

"I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to speak to me again," Malon appeared in the house doorway.

"Of course I still want to talk to you," he shot her an unconvincing smile.

"What's that?" she asked, looking at the key ring in his hand.

"This? It's something that used to belong to my brother," Shinro placed it into his pocket.

"He gave it to you?" Malon took a seat on the grass beside him.

"Not exactly, he died before I was born."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No need, you don't miss what you never had," he smiled. "My parents say this was his lucky charm so it might bring me good luck too."

"But instead you lost most of your hair," Malon avoided looking at him.

"Well, yeah, but I also met you and your friends," he touched her hand, making her look at him. "Don't you ever feel like a third wheel though?"

"Sometimes but Link and Saria are good people, they wouldn't leave me out on purpose."

"Must be better than having friends like mine, anyway." Moving his hand away, Shinro stood to leave.

"Where're you going?" Malon followed him to the entrance.

"I should start walking now if I want to get home before dark."

"Are you crazy? You can borrow a horse! And it doesn't have to be right now, does it?" She was hoping he wouldn't leave so soon.

"I guess not," he ran a hand through his hair, "but I do need to get the front of my hair sorted to match the back…"

"I can do that!"

Shinro's face turned pale.

"Don't worry, I'm good at cutting off hair, remember?" Malon grinned.

* * *

Amber didn't know how long she had been walking, the sky had turned a deep orange and the only thing she could see were masses of trees closing in on her. Stopping to catch her breath, she screamed when a skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grabbing her ankle in its vice-like grip. Managing to shake the thing off, she hurried into the nearest sheltered area which happened to be a large, hollow tree trunk leading deep into the forest. The moment she set foot on the other side of the trunk, a strange energy wrapped itself around her causing her vision to become blurred the further she walked through the trees. Coming to a stop on a small bridge, she almost fell to her knees from the nausea but instead, stumbled backwards over the low ropes, falling into the bushes below.

Saria was sitting on the rug in her house, her ocarina in one hand, a small brush in the other. Dipping the brush into a pot next to her, she ran it along the side of the instrument then repeated for the other side.

"It's nice and shiny now," she smiled, holding it up for Madi and Koda to see.

"She's one of the wisest people in the kingdom and yet shiny things amuse her," Madi nudged Koda who grinned.

"It doesn't amuse me, I just think it looks nice," Saria got up to place the ocarina on a shelf above the magical fireplace she'd created. "Why are you two here anyway?"

"We wanted to keep you company," Koda said. "And there's nothing much to do now that _I've_ got _my_ powers."

Madi rolled her eyes.

"Are you taking your sweater to the meadow, Saria?" she asked, hoping the answer would be no.

"Um, I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"If you aren't, I can watch it for you," the golden Fairy gave her a sweet smile.

"Thanks for the offer but I don't need you to watch over my clothes," Saria went to pick up the sweater when a loud scream came from outside.

"Saria! Saria, you gotta come see this!" a group of Kokiris burst into her house. "There's a strange girl in the woods!"

Forgetting her sweater, Saria left with the others, leaving Madi and Koda with exactly what they wanted.

* * *

Opening her eyes, all she could see were blurred faces leaning over her making her think this was some kind of dream. Sitting up, Amber rubbed the back of her head, staring into the eyes of a bunch of little kids. Now she was sure it was a dream. Turning to one side she saw an older girl with green hair smiling at her, if this was a dream, she started wishing it wasn't; this girl was cute and maybe even available.

"You should be feeling better now, the forest won't accept anybody unless I or the Deku Sprout allow them access," Saria explained to the confused Gerudo. "What's a Gerudo doing all the way down here?"

Amber didn't hear a word Saria said after she had told her she was the one who practically saved her life, at least, that's how it was in Amber's head.

"You saved me?" she finally said.

"I wouldn't call it 'saving', I-"

Amber leaned over, kissing Saria right on the lips before jumping up and spinning around. Spotting the entrance to the village not too far off, she skipped over to it as if nothing had happened, leaving a shocked Saria to fall face-first into the grass.

"Are girls meant to kiss other girls?" One Kokiri asked another.

"I don't know. Are boys and girls even meant to kiss?"

"I saw Saria and Link kiss once, twice, a few hundred times."

"What! You were spying on us?" Saria blushed, sitting up in the grass.

"It's kinda' hard not to," they laughed. "Come on, I want to see what else this outsider says we can kiss!"

Entering the village, they saw Amber standing in shock at the sight before her.

"What the hell is this place?"

"Our home!" the girl next to her exclaimed.

Walking behind the Gerudo, Saria couldn't take her eyes off the huge shield that was strapped to her back. She was certain she'd seen it somewhere before.

"Back for another kiss?" Amber grinned, turning to face Saria.

"You're forgetting it was you who kissed me."

"Yeah and you loved it, you can't hide your feelings from Amber!" Removing the shield from her back, she dropped it to the ground. "Do you have somewhere I can rest for a while? My back is killing me!"

"After you tell me what you were doing in the Lost Woods," Saria folded her arms.

"Well, let me go back to the beginning," Amber moved closer, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, you're short, you know that? How old are you?"

"Fifteen and I think you're just really t-"

"Yes! I am really tired, thank you for offering me a bed for the night. I'll be on the floor if I stand here any longer," Amber dropped her arm, skipping off into the centre of the village. "So, where am I sleeping?"

"Right this way," Saria mumbled, moving past Amber towards her house.

"Hmm, this place is a bit small but it'll do," Amber flopped down on the bed. "Where will you be sleeping?"

"Not here by the look of things."

"Oh, well, goodnight!" The Gerudo fell asleep without another word, the shield resting at the side of the bed.

Kneeling down in front of it, Saria admired the simple designs on the silver surface, it was then she remembered where the shield was from. Link had taken it from the Shrine of Imitia after defeating the guardian but she remembered him giving it to Nabooru, so how did this girl have it? Running a finger along the surface, she jumped back when the shield burned her.

"I don't remember it burning Link… Guess I'll ask about it tomorrow, if I can get a word in," Noticing her sweater on the floor, Saria picked it up, placing it on the table for the night.

* * *

A series of throwing stars flew through the crisp morning air in one of the castle courtyards, each landing directly in the centre of the row of targets lined up against one wall.

"Your aim has gotten a lot better since your training began with Impa," Zelda clapped from the entrance. Walking across the grass, her long, formal dress brushed against the flowers as she took a seat to one side.

"Thank you, Princess," the figure smiled, collecting his stars from the targets.

"I keep telling you- oh, never mind," Zelda sighed, twisting a blade of grass between her fingers. She had told the boy time after time that he could call her by her name, but he still hadn't gotten the hang of it. Turning her attention to the silver blade lying in the grass with its three stones in the dark purple hilt catching the morning sun, she wondered how good he had gotten with it. "How about your sword, Taj? Have you learned anything new with it?"

"Some things, Lady Impa has been researching its powers but hasn't found much." Putting the stars in one of the pockets of his blue leggings, he took a seat on the grass next to her.

"You should have gone to the sword display, someone there might have known something."

"Yeah, I forgot that was on yesterday," Taj smoothed down his deep blue hair. Impa had insisted he get rid of the spiked-look, she didn't want a Sheikah walking around like a common street punk. Picking up the sword, he was about to stand when Impa came into the courtyard, a pile of letters in her arms.

"Zelda, I think it's about time you saw these."

* * *

Waking early the next morning, Amber rubbed her eyes, trying to remember where she was.

"Man, how much was I drinking last night?" She rolled out of the bed, landing with a bump on the wooden floor. Glancing around the room, she finally worked out where she was. "Oh, right, I'm in that cute girl's house but no sign of her… I wonder if we did anything? Nah, she seemed too uptight to do that. Shame."

Pushing herself up from the floor, she looked around the room for anything of interest. On the table were a few pictographs of people Amber had obviously never met before, a certain blond-haired boy seemed to appear in most of them. Picking up each as she looked at them, she came to the conclusion that the boy was either that girl's boyfriend or she was secretly stalking him. The latter thrilling her vivid imagination to no end. Getting bored with the pictures, she moved on to the fireplace where the warmth she had been feeling was coming from. Noticing a small, wooden instrument resting on top of the fireplace, she carefully picked it up to take a closer look.

"Never seen one of these before," she ran her fingers along the holes. Too busy fidgeting with the ocarina, Amber didn't notice when a long, pink neck twisted into the house and pecked her on the back. Jumping from the shock, the ocarina slipped from her grasp, falling into the burning fire. "Oh shit!" The flames rose up, engulfing the instrument in a matter of seconds.

"No matter how much you try, you won't fit in my house Perri," Saria's voice came from outside the door. Feeling a surge of energy coming from inside. she pushed past the bird to find Amber standing by the fireplace, her hands hovering over the magical flames as they wrapped around the item she was trying to save.

"I hope that thing wasn't important," Amber mumbled, giving up the hopeless task of retrieving it.

"You hope what wasn't important?" Saria appeared behind her. Turning her attention to the shelf above the fireplace, her face paled when she noticed the ocarina was missing. "Please tell me you didn't drop my ocarina in the fire."

"I will if it makes you happy," Amber rubbed the back of her head, sending Saria a nervous grin.

"Do you usually mess with other people's things without asking?" Saria asked, her voice emotionless.

"There was that one time… Hey, it was only a little wooden thing, I'll get you another one, okay?" Amber dropped her arm, she knew this girl wouldn't have the nerve to throw her out.

"I think you should leave."

"W-what? I told you I'd replace it!"

"And I told you to leave," Saria's voice remained the same.

"But where will I go?" Amber was starting to get anxious.

"Back to the Lost Woods for all I care."

"But-"

"You know what? Stay here, burn the whole house down if you want!" Turning to leave, Saria vanished in a flash of emerald light leaving Amber to stare open-mouthed at the door in silence.

Sitting on the balcony outside his house, Link had been waiting for Saria to bring out that Gerudo girl she'd told him about but she was taking ages. Looking towards the sky, he winced when a drop of rain fell into his eyes, then another and some more until it was pouring heavier than he could remember it doing in the forest. Sliding down the ladder, he found himself wishing he had brought a jacket when the clouds above crashed together causing even more rain to drench the village. Catching himself from almost slipping on the wet grass, he made his way into Saria's house to see what the hold-up was.

"You must be Amber," he said when he saw the Gerudo still staring in shock at the doorway. "Did Saria come here to get you?"

"Saria?" Amber blinked. "Oh, is that her name? Yeah she did but she left in a bad mood when she saw what I'd done to that wooden thing. It was only an accident!"

"What wooden thing?" Link had a feeling he knew what she was on about but hoped he was wrong.

"That thing with holes in, didn't look like much to me."

"Y-you what? No wonder it's raining so bad…" Link glanced at the rain thundering down outside.

"Why? Does the weather change with her moods?" Amber laughed, not realising how right she was.

"Yeah, the Deku Sprout taught her how to change the weather, ever since it's been connected to her somehow but it hasn't rained this much in the entire time she's been able to do that."

"Maybe she thought the plants could use a drink," Amber folded her arms, oblivious to what she had done.

In the Deku Sprout's Meadow, the tiny guardian was contemplating whether to stop the rain itself or wait for Saria to do it herself. The sprout knew if it was left for too long the entire forest would flood but this was something Saria had to learn to control, ever since she had started aging, the weather would change several times a day sometimes.

"Go to her, Nori," It decided to wait a little longer for her to do it on her own.

"Me? I'm sure Link will get there first," Nori said from the low branches of the old Deku Tree.

"He will try but he still hasn't learned how to sense her presence when she doesn't want to be seen, you on the other hand, were created with that ability."

"But-"

"Or don't you care about her any longer?"

"Of course I do!" Nori pushed any negative thoughts to the back of his mind and took off towards the Lost Woods.

* * *

"She must be in here somewhere," Link stood in the entrance of the Forest Temple, a bitter wind wrapping itself around him as the storm raged on outside. He had tried to mentally contact her but his attempts had been blocked out by the emotion of the storm, the temple was the only place he could think of that she would choose to go. Moving past the entrance, he headed into the main chamber which was also empty. "This could take a while."

Flying into the temple not long after Link, Nori sighed when he saw Saria huddled up to the side of the entrance, seeing her like that reminded him too much of past experiences.

"Saria?" he asked, landing on the ground next to her. "Why are you so upset?"

"I don't want to talk to anyone," she sniffed, not looking at him.

"Come on, you can tell me,"

"You've been avoiding me for months so don't pretend you care, you're only here because the Deku Sprout sent you."

"That's not entirely true, I may not be your guardian anymore but I'm still your friend, I just haven't been dealing with it very well…" he found himself regretting listening to the Deku Sprout.

"I'll get Darunia to play you the smallest violin with the saddest song on it."

"Darunia can play the violin?" the Fairy blinked. "Um, anyway, I know you didn't mean that, even if I deserved it. You know I won't be leaving until you do tell me though, so you might as well get it over with."

Saria started mumbling something that not many people would even hear.

"I know how much that ocarina meant to you, what did she have to say for herself?"

There was more mumbling.

"Hmm, yeah, you can't replace something like that but this might be a good thing."

"How do you work that out?" Saria sat up straight.

"Well, what did the ocarina symbolise?" Nori moved from the ground to her shoulder.

"It held a lot of memories and- wait, why am I telling you this? You already know."

"I know," he smiled. "But was it the ocarina keeping those memories or you?"

"Me, I guess, not like I've lost them now that it's gone…" Saria rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"There you are," Link came out of the door leading into the main temple. "I was worried about you," he said, sitting beside them and putting his arm around Saria.

"Sorry, I didn't want to trouble people."

"You never trouble me," Link smiled. "But the rest of the forest would probably like it if you stopped the rain."

"I made it rain?" Saria followed Link and Nori outside to see the downpour. "I didn't even notice." She focused her emotions, bringing the rain to a sudden stop. "Everyone in the village must be mad at me now."

"I wouldn't say that," Nori was relieved to see a clear sky at last. "Speaking of them, I should head back."

"Oh, ok," Saria's eyes shifted to the ground below the platform they were on.

"But you can come and see me later, if you want," he said before flying off into the depths of the woods without waiting for a reply.

"Hey, Saria?" Link put a hand on her shoulder. "You can have this if it will make you feel better," he held out his own Fairy ocarina for her.

"I can't take that, I made it for you," she shook her head. "Anyway, I can always get another one, or take up something else. How does the violin sound?"

_Saria, can you come to the castle immediately please? And bring Link too!_

Zelda's voice echoed inside Saria's mind, causing her to almost fall off the platform.

"So when did you want to leave for Death Mountain?" Link asked, he had been looking forward to this day for weeks.

"We can't go," Saria sighed. "Zelda wants us at the castle, right now."

"Aw, can't she wait until tomorrow?"

"It sounded important so I doubt it. I'll get my sweater then we'll go, okay?" She kissed him on the cheek then climbed down the tree.

"Yeah, that's fine," he put his ocarina away, following her back to the village.

* * *

_Dear King Hyrule._

_We are writing to inform you that a valuable artefact of our country has mysteriously disappeared from the Shrine of Imitia, which as you know, connects directly to the spirits of the land. Our sources are telling us that the last people to enter the shrine were those who resemble Hylians. We are not a government who points fingers but we have been led to believe that the artefact we seek is somewhere in your kingdom. If you could assure us that you do not have the artefact then this will be the last you hear of us, however, if we discover that the item is indeed in your kingdom, we will be forced to take immediate action._

_We will be awaiting your response._

_The Government of Asterlin._

The letter was dated two years ago.

_Dear King Hyrule._

_Thank you for your replies to our numerous letters. We understand how much your kingdom has suffered over the past decade, but that still does not warrant denying any existence of our artefact in your kingdom. Our government has a powerful array of sorcerers on its side who have detected the energy of the item coming from within Hyrule. Of course, you may not be aware of the item's location but if it is not returned soon, we will be forced to come and take it ourselves._

_Impatiently waiting._

_The Government of Asterlin_

The letter was dated a year ago.

_Dear King Hyrule_

_We are now sure our artefact is hidden in your kingdom. The spirits who uphold the law of our land are starting to feel the change in the magical balance of the country, if the item is not returned to its proper place soon, things could become disastrous for us and the people of Asterlin. A representative of the government will be paying you a visit in the near future to discuss this in more detail if the item is not returned._

_The Government of Asterlin._

The letter was dated one day ago. At the bottom of each letter was a small sketch of the artefact they were searching for, the golden shield.

"Father has been receiving hundreds of these letters and has only now decided to tell me," Zelda told Link, Saria and Taj who were with her in one of the larger courtyards. "I know you had that shield Link, so what did you do with it?"

"I gave it to Nabooru," Link said from his position on the grass beneath an old tree at the back of the courtyard.

"Well she says she hasn't got it," Zelda huffed, she didn't want another war on her hands. "Do you always take things that don't belong to you?"

"It was lying on the ground with no one around, if someone had wanted it so much they would have taken better care of it!" Link countered.

"I think I know where it is," Saria joined the conversation, letting herself fall backwards over the low tree branch she was sat on.

"Care to enlighten us?" Zelda asked the upside-down girl.

After Saria had told her about Amber and the shield, Zelda had sent Impa to fetch the girl from the forest at once.

"Hey, you didn't have to report me to the princess, Saria! I told you I'd get you a new wooden thingie!" Amber exclaimed when Impa brought her into the courtyard.

"I don't know what's been going on but this has nothing do with a 'wooden thingie'," Zelda folded her arms, noticing the Silver Gauntlets on the Gerudo's hands. "You're here because you have something that doesn't belong to you."

"I do?" Amber looked confused. "Oh, right, the shield… You see, that's an interesting sto-"

"Just hand it over please," the princess wasn't in the mood for long stories.

"Will I be arrested if I don't?"

"…Yes," Zelda would say anything to get it from her.

"Alright, fine, it was pretty useless anyway," Amber mumbled, taking the shield and handing it to Zelda. The moment the shield touched Zelda's skin, a scorching red mark appeared causing her to drop it.

"The same thing happened to me," Saria showed them the burn on her finger.

"Let me try," Link moved towards the weapon, picking it up but he also dropped it from the shock. "Wha? I could pick it up before…"

"You people are wimps," Amber picked the shield up with ease, swinging it around her body.

"The Asterlin government wants it back as soon as possible… you'll have to take it, Amber was it?" Zelda had a feeling she was going to regret this, but if no one else could carry it then it was her only option.

"Yeah, that's me! Amber, not anything else!" Amber grinned.

"Okay then, have a nice time in Asterlin Amber, don't come back too soon," Link went to leave the courtyard.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zelda narrowed her eyes. "You and Saria are going too."

"What!" Saria fell from the branch. "Why do we have to go?"

"You brought that thing back here in the first place so you can help return it."

"But wouldn't we need to go to Meldora to do that?" Link asked.

"I'm not sure how the realm of Imitia works exactly, all I know is that the country of Asterlin has a strong connection with it. When something is wrong in Imitia, Asterlin is the first to know. You could say Imitia is like our Sacred Realm for them." Zelda turned to the silent Taj who was leaning against the tree, almost as tall as it. "Taj, you can go too, the training will do you good." The princess had her own suspicions about his sword but would keep them to herself until she knew more.

"That will be fine, Princess," Taj nodded, he had been wanting a chance to test out his skills for a while.

"I hope the four of you get on because you'll be spending a lot of time together on the journey. After all, Asterlin is across the ocean," Zelda smirked, the expressions on Link and Saria's faces were priceless.


	4. Wagon Talk

Returning to the same place she had been the previous morning, she took a seat on the rock where she had left her old blue pencil. Setting the book on her lap, she turned to the page where the picture of the beach had been drawn. It was exactly the same as the day before, everything she had worked so hard on, including her signature at the bottom. Taking the corner of the page between two fingers, she slowly turned the edge to reveal a blank page. Within seconds, the page filled with the same drawing as before. However, this time there was something different in the centre of the ocean, something she had been hoping wouldn't appear. What was left of a great ship floated across the waves, pieces of broken wood littering the water with no trace of life in sight. Slamming the book shut, she looked up to see a pair of sparkling blue eyes far off beneath the ocean. Akimaru had awoken.

* * *

"You three can stay here if you want, it's not like I'll need you," Amber told the others as they sat on the grass hill outside the castle.

"Fine with me," Saria mumbled.

"No matter what we say, Zelda won't let us get out of this," Link put his arms behind his head, resting them on the grass. "Although, she might let you off Saria since you're a Sage and all, but you know, it would be lonely without you…"

"Lonely? You'd have me to keep you company- not that I want any of you there!" the Gerudo exclaimed. "Who are you anyway?" she turned to Taj who had been sitting silently to the side.

"I'm Taj, I-"

"Taj huh? You seem familiar, do I know you?" Amber looked the boy up and down.

"I doubt it," he swallowed hard.

"Well, we should get going," Link stood up, stretching his arms. "The quicker we get there, the sooner we can leave."

"You do know that it will take you approximately three days to cross the ocean, don't you?" Zelda's voice rang out over the hills.

"No way! I can't swim that far!" Amber squeaked.

Zelda slapped herself on the forehead.

"I'll have the sailors prepare a ship for you, it will be magically enchanted so you don't have to worry about sailing it yourselves." Taking out some small cards, she started handing them out. "To get through the port gate, you'll need these identity cards. I've taken the time to fill them out for each of you."

"My name is Taj Hyrule?" Taj blinked at the name on his card.

"Yes, you'll be known as a cousin of mine. Link and Saria have been given the same last name since I couldn't-"

"Whoa, you two are related?" Amber glanced at their cards, both had the last name 'Kokiri' after their names.

"Of course not!" Saria almost fainted.

"Ah I see, so you're married?" Amber's expression was serious.

"Do we look old enough to be?" Link asked, looking at the rest of his card. "I did prefer 'Croissant' though."

"Well, I dun-"

"It's made up, okay!" Zelda folded her arms, glad she wasn't going on a journey with this girl.

"Oh, right," Amber read the name on her own card. "Hey, why don't I have a last name… or a first name?"

"Because I wasn't sure what to put. Amber doesn't sound like a typical Gerudo name," the princess watched the girl's expression change into a scowl.

"Well it is my name! My first one, okay? Maybe my mother wanted to be more original than the others!"

"If you say so," Zelda snatched the card to fill in the details. "And what's your last name?"

"Farrenzolinackerishla!"

There was silence.

"Are you serious?" Saria finally said.

"Would this face lie to you?" Amber shot her a big grin.

"That's a rhetorical question, right?" the Kokiri half smiled.

"A what? What are you going on about Saria?" Amber asked, watching Zelda fill out her card with an amused expression on her face. "That name has been passed through generations in my family, it is an honour to have it!"

"Yes, well, here's your card," Zelda handed her the card. "I've arranged some transport that will take you to the docks. It should be arriving shortly."

"I didn't even know Hyrule had docks, where are they?" Link asked, not remembering any docks on his travels of the kingdom.

"They're in the southern area of the kingdom. You've probably never seen them because you were never looking," Zelda explained. Hearing a horse-drawn wagon rolling up the lane, she went to greet it.

"Lucky I carry most of my weapons with me all the time," Link said, trying to see who was in the wagon.

"Yeah because I don't," Saria grinned. "Not that I have many."

"Wait, we won't get time to pack? But I need to go back and get some supplies and other weapons and my pyjamas!" Amber started to panic, she hadn't imagined the shield would be so much trouble.

"Hi everyone!" a familiar, cheerful voice squealed from the lane.

"Hi Malon, what are you doing here?" Saria waved at the ranch girl.

"Well, since you always leave me behind when you go off and save the world, I thought I'd help you get there this time!" she nodded to the wagon she had borrowed from her dad. "And Shinro is here too! He's my bodyguard!"

"We aren't saving the world," Saria pointed out.

"Why do you look at me when you say we leave you behind and not Saria, too?" Link mumbled.

"Because she's only done it once! You've done it… more than once!" Malon huffed and walked back to the wagon. "Now move your butts so we can get going!"

"I like this girl," Amber smiled, skipping towards the wagon. "Having no supplies or clothes might be fun."

"You'll be the one needing a bodyguard from Malon," Link whispered to Shinro who was sitting upfront. Getting in the back of the wagon, he poked his head through the gap connecting to the front seat. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Malon said you were taking a trip to the docks so I thought I'd come along. That part of Hyrule Field can be dangerous too."

"Hi! You have interesting hair," Amber shoved Link out of the way to get a better look at Shinro. "Was your hairdresser on something when they cut it?"

"She sat on a chair yeah," Shinro blinked, not sure what this girl was trying to say.

"A chair? You're funny," Amber grinned. "I'm Amber, pleasure to meet you, jagged-haired boy."

"Hey Shinro?" Link squeezed his head through the hole next to Amber. "If you're here as a 'bodyguard' does that mean you brought your sword?"

"I did. Why're you asking?"

"Just wondering what type you have," he tried to get a peek at the other boy's sword but it was well hidden.

"That would be telling," Shinro shot him a smile. "I don't like to bring it out unless I really need it."

"Your own fists are better anyway!" the Gerudo exclaimed, almost punching Link in the face.

"I like a mixture of both myself," Taj joined the conversation from the back of the wagon.

"Oh? What kind of weapons do you have?" Amber twisted around, suddenly becoming interested in the Sheikah.

Turning his attention to Saria and Zelda talking in front of the castle, Link wondered what they could have been saying. Saria hadn't been herself since that morning, he knew she was still upset over her ocarina but didn't know how to cheer her up. Hopefully seeing all the new sights would take her mind off things.

"I'll watch over the Forest Temple," Zelda reassured Saria. "It will be fun."

"That's nice of you Zelda, but what if you get lost?" Saria asked, the image of the princess being chased by a gang of skull kids through the forest flashing into her mind.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. If I do get lost I can just warp myself to safety, right?" Zelda smiled, pushing Saria towards the wagon. "I've always wanted to be a Kokiri for a day, now I can be one for a week!"

"Shut up Saria, you're going! You have no choice!" a high voice hissed out of nowhere.

"Did you just hear that…?" Saria blinked, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Nope," Zelda shrugged. "Must have been the wind."

"Come on Saria, while we're young!" Malon shouted from the wagon.

"Shh! Be quiet!" another voice whispered a little too loud.

"Must be my imagination," Saria said to herself before getting in the wagon.

"Have a lovely time!" Zelda waved when the wagon took off. "Bring me back something nice!"

* * *

"So, tell me about yourself," Amber moved next to Taj whilst the others talked to Malon and Shinro through the gap.

"What do you want to know?" Taj asked, shifting slightly away from the girl.

"I didn't pay much attention in my history classes, but I do know that the Sheikah race was wiped out a long time ago. How did you manage to slip through that?"

"It's a long story that I'd rather not go into," the boy replied, hoping she wouldn't keep asking questions.

"If that's how you want it," Amber sighed, this was so boring! They had been travelling for the best part of the day but it didn't seem to her like they had gotten anywhere. "Are you single?" she finally asked Taj.

"Um, yeah. Why?" he gulped.

"Just wondering," Amber grinned. "I bet you get up to a lot of mischief when no one's looking, eh? Or are you, Saria and Link having some kind of secret threesome?"

"No, of course not!" Taj couldn't believe she would ask such a thing.

"I see, it's the ranch girl instead, isn't it? She's in on their threesome and this angers you because you want to be in her place. It's ok Taj, I'm here for you now." she patted his arm. "Although, you're not really my type. No offence, but I prefer my guys with more meat on them." Her eyes shifted to Link who was pointing towards the Zora River, saying something about multicoloured frogs. "However…" her gaze moved to Saria. "Girls are always more interesting."

"That's, uh, nice for you," Taj started fidgeting with his fingers so he wouldn't have to look directly at her. "I think I'll take a nap," he told her, forcing his eyelids shut to give the impression that he really was sleeping.

"Meh," Amber mumbled, leaning back against the inside of the wagon. "How can anyone sleep at a time like this? He's acting like he gets to go a whole new country everyday." Digging her hands into her pockets, she brought out a small penknife she had stolen from some overweight rich guy in the market. Pulling out the various gadgets, she tried to figure out what some of them actually did.

"What's that?" Saria asked, staring at the unfamiliar object.

"My mom said it's a penknife so I guess that's what it is," Amber replied, surprised that the Kokiri had been paying attention to her.

"You must be close to your mom, to trust her so much." Moving from her spot next to Link, Saria sat by Amber to get a better look at the penknife.

"Depends on the day," the Gerudo smirked. "I bet your mom loves you, the perfect daughter with the perfect boyfriend and the perfect life."

"I wouldn't know, I've never had one. And that's a bold statement to make about someone you've just met."

"Huh?" Amber blinked. "Did your mom pass away or something?"

"Nope, I just never had one. I have a dad though, kind of, if you want to count a tree as one," Saria said casually.

"Right. You'll be telling me you live with fairies next," Amber laughed, this girl had to be making this up to wind her up.

"You know more than you're letting on," Deciding to ignore Amber's sarcasm, Saria sounded impressed.

Amber couldn't think of a reply. Turning back to her penknife, she tried to work out why Saria was even talking to her, if she had been so mad about the wooden thing getting burned.

"Oh, look at the huge flowers!" Malon squealed when they entered the southern field.

"What the hell are they?" Amber jumped up next to Link. To the Gerudo the 'flowers' looked like giant orange buds with long propellers underneath.

"Peahats, they inhabit the vast spaces of Hyrule Field," Shinro explained. "They survive by feeding on the plants that grow here. If you get too close to them, they'll give chase and won't stop until they've sliced you to pieces with their razor sharp blades!"

"You'd make a good fairy," Link smirked, about to reach for his sword. "One of them is bound to start up since there's so many around here."

"Don't be silly Link, my wagon driving skills will get us past these things without a problem!" Malon exclaimed, before crashing the wagon right into the nearest peahat without realising. Rising into the air, the giant plant-like creature summoned its friends who swarmed around the wagon, leaving no path unguarded to escape.

"Stay in the wagon where it's safe girls, we'll deal with these things," Shinro said, grabbing the hilt of his sword.

"Excuse me?" Amber sent a fist into the back of his head. "I don't need to be protected by a bunch of 'men'!" Leaping over the passed out Shinro, she clutched the edges of her shield ready to take out the whole group alone if she had to.

"Would it be surprising if I actually agree with her?" Saria watched the Gerudo slice through one of the peahats with the sharp edges of the shield.

"I'd be more surprised if you didn't agree with her." Link grinned, relaxing his hand and letting the sword slide back into its sheath. "Should we leave her get on with it?"

"Die asshole!" Amber screamed, a shower of green blood spurting from the nearest one as she threw the shield right through it, cutting it in two. Dodging an ambush of smaller peahats, she twisted around catching the shield as it span magically back to her hand.

"She shouldn't get all the fun, and I do need the practice," Taj leapt out of the wagon the same way Amber had, his sword slashing through the first peahat he came to.

"I don't want your help, you sexist pig!" Amber went to punch Taj but got a shock when the boy faded out of her sight, reappearing a few metres behind her.

"What are you on about? It wasn't me who told you to stay in the wagon," he reminded her, back flipping over a peahat sneaking up behind him.

"All guys are the same, although they do have their uses, like keeping our race going," Amber mumbled, ducking under a another of the flying enemies.

"You've met every guy in the world? You must have travelled a lot," the Sheikah finished off two small peahats at once with some throwing stars.

"What would you know about what we think? You're not a Gerudo, or a woman."

"I guess not," Taj replied, not wanting to let on that he had lived under her nose for so long without her knowing.

"Did she just do that to me?" Shinro mumbled, rubbing his sore head. "It's not my fault I was raised to be a gentleman."

"You need to get out of your little bubble a bit more," Link sighed. Looking over at Saria, he watched the girl leaning against the side of the wagon, her eyes half closed looking as if she was about to fall asleep. Reaching into his pocket, he felt the bracelet next to his ocarina but knew it wasn't the right time to give it to her.

"Coming from someone who didn't know what flour was a few years ago," Malon leaned over the back of her seat. "I think the world needs more gentlemen."

"Zelda told you about that?" Link's face turned red.

"Girls do talk, you know?" the ranch girl grinned.

"Zelda makes a good gentleman when she wants to, doesn't she Malon?" Saria joined the conversation, facing the other way to hide her laughter.

"Saria! How did you know?" Malon almost fell out of her seat. No one but her and Zelda were supposed to know about the Sheik 'incident'.

"Like you said, girls talk," the Kokiri smiled.

"Or in both these cases, Zelda talks and the rest of us listen. I didn't think she had such a big mouth," Link shook his head.

"So, did you really become friends with the princess in the way Malon told me?" Shinro asked, putting Link and Saria on the spot.

"Yes," Link replied, confident Malon had given him a believable story.

"Wow, you're slaves she bought in Hyrule Market? You must have had a terrible life before that."

"Yeees," Link grit his teeth, frowning at the back of Malon's head.

"No wonder you're so good with a sword, getting to train in the castle!" the General's son sounded impressed.

"Shinro thinks it's great that you're going to another country just to pick beans for Hyrule," Malon nodded.

"Hah, I knew I could do it!" Amber's voice interrupted them. The peahats had all been destroyed and of course, she was taking full credit for it.

"You had help," Taj muttered, slipping his sword into his belt.

"Help I didn't ask for," she huffed, shoving past him. "Me and this thing are going all the way, we'll enter fighting tournaments and everything! I'll be so rich," she smiled fondly at the shield.

"You're forgetting one thing, it's not yours," the Sheikah said, following the ecstatic girl back to the wagon.

"Oh yeah? Well where did you get that sword from?"

"I uh… found it," Taj replied.

"Ah-ha! What makes it yours then?" Amber smirked, knowing she had him cornered now

"No one has demanded I give it back to them?" he smiled, she wouldn't have anything else to say to that.

"Meh, whatever. It's mine until that time!"

"If Link had fought those things we would have been at the docks by now!" a high voice exclaimed out of nowhere.

"Did your sweater just insult me?" Amber blinked, looking at Saria's pockets.

"The tanned girl is smart, and hot too!" Koda flew out of the pocket, his hands moving straight to his hair to make sure it was still in place.

"What're you doing!" Madi hissed from within the sweater.

"They knew we were there after your screaming!" he yelled. The purple fairy had been getting fed up of sneaking around, and it had been getting too hot in Saria's pocket which wasn't good for his complexion.

"But now they'll send us home!" Madi cried, latching onto Saria's jumper. "Please don't send us home Saria!"

"Balls of light that can talk and scream, this keeps on getting more and more interesting," Amber said, watching Madi clinging to Saria.

"I-it's not up to me," Saria tried to pull the fairy off but it was no good. "Won't you miss your training?"

"This is my training!"

"She didn't even know what a peahat is," Koda snorted.

"I forgot is all!" she sniffed. "Come on Saria, the Deku Sprout won't mind if you say we can come!"

"The who?" Amber blinked, these people were weird.

"I don't have a hat you can hide in anymore though," Link said over Madi's crying.

"I'm sure I can find a new place," she smirked. "Who said I want to be your guardian again anyway? I think I should get Saria this time."

"We never discussed this!" Koda landed on Saria's jumper. "Saria's more used to having a male fairy so I should be it."

"I'm so loved," Link sighed.

"Nuh-uh, girls have to stick together!" Madi replied, still not letting go of Saria.

"Neither of you is guarding anyone, you can fly above like fairies are supposed to!" Saria pulled both of them off her clothing.

"So are you saying we can come?" Madi asked hopefully.

"If you shut up for a second, then yes," Saria closed her eyes. "Not like we had much of a choice."

"Okay so now we have two flying balls of light with us, and one of them called me hot," Amber rubbed her head.

"The correct term is fairy," Koda hovered in front of the Gerudo's face. "You should feel privileged, I don't call many girls hot."

"Yeah, if not many is all the girls you meet," Madi shoved Koda out of the way. "I'm Madi and I know you're Amber, you made Saria sad which makes me sad but I'll learn to get on with you if she can."

"Um, thanks," Amber stared dumbly at the golden fairy. "Nice to have your approval."

"Who exactly are those two?" Shinro whispered to Malon who had been driving the wagon towards the entrance of the docks.

"Some friends of Link and Saria's I guess, they know a lot of strange people," she shrugged. "You get used to it."

* * *

The cool sea air woke them up as the wagon rolled through the rusty iron gates of the docks. Rows of vessels sat lined up against the old wooden piers which looked as if they could fall apart at any time. At one end of the docks were the smaller boats owned by local fishermen and sailors who didn't work for the castle. The further they looked along the docks, the grander the ships became with their tall masts and elegant sails blowing gently in the breeze. One of the noticeable differences between the smaller boats and the ships was that the biggest ships had magical spells surrounding them, spells only the Royal Family could create. Link guessed the largest ships at the end must have belonged to Zelda's father, or at least someone high up in the army.

"Identification please," a guard standing at the gate asked in an emotionless voice.

"Right," Malon smiled, digging in her bag for her card. "All of you will have to show him your cards too."

"What if we ate our cards?" Amber leaned over behind Malon.

"Did you do that?" Shinro shot the Gerudo a startled look.

"No, but what if we did!"

"No one would be stupid enough," Taj joined her at the gap to show the guard his card. "These things don't have pictures on so how do they know who we are?"

Taking the boy's card, the guard waved a hand over the blank side where a cross-eyed picture of Taj appeared.

"Nice picture," Link grinned, leaning over the boy's shoulder. "Where did Zelda get them?"

"I guess she took them without us knowing," Taj took his card back from the guard. "It's amazing how that spell works, isn't it?"

"I thought so too the first time I came here," Malon felt good to finally know about something her friends didn't.

"Let me see mine," Link watched the guard put the spell on his card.

"You look dead," Malon laughed at the picture of Link lying on the grass with his eyes closed.

"Must have been when we were in the courtyard," Saria handed the guard hers.

"Haha, that's the best one yet!" Amber cracked up. The card showed Saria falling backwards from the tree in Zelda's courtyard.

"Zelda got it right in mid-air too, she has one good pictobox," Link laughed. "Let's see yours Amber."

"I'm sure mine will be fantastically awesome," the Gerudo insisted.

Uncovering the hidden image, the guard himself almost fell over from laughing. There was Amber, snarling at the pictobox with her finger pointing at it in a threatening manner.

"Eheh, must have caught me off guard when I was dragged into the castle," Amber blushed, snatching the card back.

"Glad I don't need a card," Madi sighed, landing on the floor of the wagon. "I need someone's head to sit on."

"Why don't you need a card?" Amber lay down next to the fairy.

"Because, fairies can pass through the borders of any country without worrying about identification."

"Cool, wish I was one."

"It's scary being that small," Link told her, getting ready to get off the wagon.

"And you'd know, how?" Amber asked, jumping out of the wagon.

"Just a hunch," he smiled, wondering where the ship Zelda had prepared was.

"Are you Link?" a nearby sailor asked, throwing a cloth he had been using to clean one of the ships into a bucket.

"Yeah, that's me." Link answered. He had never seen a sailor up close before, he hoped he would never have to wear their uniform.

"I've never seen the ocean before!" Amber ran to the edge of the platform, nearly tumbling into the water in her excitement. "Can you imagine swimming across it?"

"I can imagine it yes, but wouldn't do it," Taj joined her, his reflection shimmering in the water below.

Further down the way, Malon and Shinro were walking in silence, enjoying the sounds of the waves. Looking at the huge ships at the other end, Malon sighed.

"Something wrong?" Shinro asked.

"Hmm? Not really," she didn't want to bother him with her silly dreams.

"Okay then." he wasn't going to force her to confide in him.

They carried on walking in silence for a few minutes.

"It's just, I've been here loads of times to deliver milk but I've never been on a ship before. Dad said he'd take me someday, I think he forgot though."

"Well, if you want, the next time my parents and I go sailing on our ship you could come too. Only if you want though," Shinro didn't want her to think he was bragging.

"Oh yeah, your family must own a string of ships," she mumbled, feeling she couldn't match up to his lifestyle.

"Nope, only the one. It's not that big either but my parents are happy with it." he could tell she felt intimidated by him.

"Oh, okay. What does your mom do anyway?" Malon changed the subject.

"You'll have to come meet her sometime, I think you'll like her."

"Sure, I'd like that," she nodded, pushing the negative thoughts to the back of her mind.

Back at the other end of the docks, the sailor was taking the spell off one of Zelda's new ships.

"This belongs to the princess herself, I'm surprised she's letting you borrow it since she hasn't even used it herself yet."

"Someone must've been in a good mood," Koda whistled, setting himself on Saria's head so softly that she didn't notice.

"It's probably full of rats or something," Amber chuckled to herself.

"However, there's one thing that needs to be done before you can leave." the sailor explained.

"We have to clean the rats out?" Amber couldn't stop herself.

"It's bad luck to travel in a ship until it's named," he said, ignoring Amber's comment. "The princess has said that she would like you to name it for her."

"She'll regret that," Madi giggled.

"I say we call it-" Amber started.

"I say we each write a suggestion down and put it in the hat, then we let this sailor pull out the winner," Taj suggested before Amber could finish.

"Fine, if we must," Amber grumbled, taking a piece of paper from the sailor.

"Fairies can join in too, right?" Koda asked.

"You're lucky to be here so don't get too pushy," Saria swatted him off her head.

"Haha, pushy!" Madi cackled, fluttering around in a circle.

When all of the ideas had been placed in the hat, the sailor shuffled them about before pulling the winning name out.

"And the name that ship shall be called is…" he read from the paper. "The Golden Amber."

"Yes!" Amber punched the air.

"Oh jeeze," Link tried not to laugh. "I'd love to see Zelda's face when she finds out."

"What was yours then?" the Gerudo leered at him.

"The Chocolate Keesecake."

"Mine was The Sheikah Star," Taj grinned, proud of his idea.

"Am I the only one who had Zelda in mind while thinking of a name?" Saria crossed her arms.

"What was your suggestion?" Koda asked.

"The Lazy Dog."

"That's what you thought of when you think of Zelda?" Link burst out laughing, falling to his knees.

"I didn't know you were like that Saria," Taj said, trying to hold in his laughter.

"Huh? No! Not in that way!" the girl started laughing herself. "She told me that her favourite pet when she was younger was this lazy dog she had, I thought it would be nice."

"If you say so shorty," Amber smiled, putting an arm around Saria's shoulders. "Anyway, the winning name is my choice so we can forget about the rest."

"Yes, I guess we should get on," Link mumbled, pulling Saria away from the Gerudo. "Like I said before, the sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back."

"The Golden Amber it is!" the sailor smirked, painting the name onto the side of the ship in gold letters. "Her Highness will be most amused indeed."


	5. All Aboard The Golden Amber

Placing a forest green hair band in her hair, Zelda turned to admire her new look in her floor-length mirror. The princess was wearing a plain green dress she had found in the market that afternoon. To complete the outfit, she had also bought the hair band, a belt and some brown boots that had been on sale. Running a brush through her hair, she span around one final time before preparing to leave for the forest. Grabbing a piece of paper from her dresser, she scribbled a quick note for Impa and anyone else who happened to look for her while she was away. She had a feeling her father wouldn't be too happy with her staying in the forest alone but she was sure she could take care of herself. How much trouble could one person get into in that place? Picking up the Ocarina of Time that Link had returned to her shortly after his adventure in Meldora, Zelda played the Minuet of the Forest, disappearing in a flash of emerald light.

Arriving in the peaceful Sacred Meadow, the princess smoothed out her dress while wondering what to do first.

"I've never been to the Kokiri Village before, no one has thought to invite me," she mumbled. "I guess now is as good a time as any. The temple seems fine so I can afford to enjoy myself for a bit."

Making her way through the meadow labyrinth, the princess stepped cautiously into the depths of the Lost Woods. Turning down the path she thought was right, she stopped to take in the noises in the distance. She had only been in these woods once before and that was in another timeline when she had been disguised as Sheik. Shrugging off the eerie feeling, she pushed through some low branches and continued walking in what she hoped was the correct way. Remembering that most of the pathways led straight to the village, the princess sighed in relief, glad the Deku Sprout had accepted her into the forest. It would make getting to the village a lot easier.

Finally finding her way into an open space, she let her eyes adjust to the light of the village, which seemed blinding in comparison to the depths of Lost Woods. Moving towards the edge of the cliff, she glanced out over the village and for the first time in years, Zelda was speechless. She felt as though she had just stepped into one of those fairy tales Impa would read to her when she was younger. Stopping to let a few golden sprites and chains of fireflies sweep around her, she made her way down the cliff to see if anyone was outside.

"And who the heck are you?" A male voice caught her off guard as she wandered into the midst of the village.

Turning around, she raised an eyebrow when she saw a small boy, almost half her height glaring up at her as if she had just insulted him by being there. Ignoring his expression, she shot him a bright smile.

"Hi, I'm Zelda," she held out her hand.

"Zelda huh?" he put his hand on his chin in thought. "Oh, you're that girl Link and Saria are friends with, right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Well I'm Mido, the boss around here," he shook her hand.

"Ah, so you're Mido. I've heard a lot about you," Zelda grinned, letting go of his hand.

"Oh…?" the Kokiri gulped.

"A stubborn, self-centred, selfish, two-faced, bully."

"Um, uh, yeah, about that…"

"Who became an invaluable member to the Kokiris when they needed you most two years ago. Quite impressive, that you managed to hold up that barrier for so long."

"I guess people can change in the end, if given enough chances," Mido sighed. "Can I ask why you're here, and dressed like one of us?"

"Saria has gone away for a while."

"Surprise, surprise," Mido mumbled. "As soon as something more exciting comes along, she's out of here."

"It's not like that," Zelda reassured him. "Anyway, while she's away, I'll be here in her place to protect the forest and help out in the village."

"Oh, so are you one of those Sages too?"

"Yeah, I am. So, what does Saria usually do when she's here?" Looking past Mido, Zelda could see some of the other Kokiris doing various things.

"Um, I don't know. She's not in the village a lot anymore since she's either with the Deku Sprout, in the temple or not in the forest at all. You could try her house though, maybe she keeps Sage stuff in there," Mido pointed towards Saria's house.

"Right, thanks!" Zelda smiled.

Entering Saria's house, the first thing that caught her eye was a bright blue ball of light sat in front of the fireplace. Kneeling down next to him, she wondered what he was doing there all alone.

"You're Nori, aren't you?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Wha?" the fairy jumped. "P-princess Zelda! What're you doing here?" The fireplace and burned ocarina pieces had been distracting him so much that he hadn't noticed the girl enter the house.

"I could ask you the same thing," she sat down, hugging her knees to her chest.

"I was just thinking."

"About Saria?"

"You should have seen how upset she was this morning, I haven't seen her like that for so long." he turned to face Zelda who was sitting on the rug, just like Saria used to.

"Why was she upset, if you don't mind me asking?"

"A Gerudo girl, Amber I think, accidentally burnt her ocarina. Saria has never been able to make it rain since she's one of those people who's always in a good mood. But this morning, it rained so hard I thought the forest was going to flood." Staring at the ashes of the instrument, he wished he could do something with them.

"Oh, so that's what Amber was yelling about," Zelda remembered the girl shouting about some 'wooden thingie'. "No wonder Saria didn't seem herself, and now she and Amber have gone on a trip together…"

"A trip?" Nori blinked.

"Yeah, Link and Taj have gone too. They're returning that shield to its rightful owners." the princess explained.

"Oh, so you're-"

"Help! There's a scary monster in the woods!"

Screams interrupted their conversation. Leaping to her feet in an instant, Zelda prepared to go see what the trouble was when Nori stopped her.

"Wait, you may be able to protect yourself with magic but the creatures of the Lost Woods can be extremely dangerous." Fluttering over to Saria's bed, he pointed underneath it. "Take the sword under there, Saria only uses it in emergencies."

Reaching under the bed, Zelda brought out a short sword with a glistening emerald blade. Deciding Nori made a good point, she slid the weapon into her belt.

"Okay, let's go see what's going on, shall we?"

* * *

"Ahoy me hearties! This here be my ship, The Golden Amber and all of ye will be me crew!" Amber shouted over the whistling of the wind, standing at the front of the ship as if she owned the vessel.

"And what will our jobs be?" Taj asked, humouring her.

"Why, ye will be my trustee lookout!" She looked towards the lookout tower in the centre of the ship. "'Tis a job I only trust to me finest men!"

"I feel honoured, Captain," Taj made his way towards the tower, deciding even if she was joking, someone did need to keep watch for enemy ships.

"And you!" Amber pointed at the fairies. "You will be the swabbies! Get cleaning those decks, I want to see my face in them!"

"She has to be joking," Koda folded his arms. "The only thing I clean is myself."

"Yeah, waaay too much," Madi laughed.

"Now, for the lady of the ship," the Gerudo smirked, moving closer to Saria. "You will be my personal assistant. How does that sound to ya?"

"Um, I-"

The ship was flung upwards by a large wave causing Saria's face to pale.

"I-I think I'm gonna be sick," she ran to the side of the ship, leaving Amber to stand and stare.

"I think the idea makes her sick," Link grinned.

"For that comment, ye will be the lowly wench of the ship!" Amber put an arm round his shoulders. "Aren't you happy?"

"Do you even know what a wench is?" Koda asked over Madi's giggling.

"What I know and don't know is none of your business!" she went to flick the purple fairy, only to miss. "Now, go explore the ship and report back with what ye find!"

* * *

"That Amber is such a pain, why couldn't we just put the shield in a bag and carry it that way?" Madi mumbled, resting on Link's head.

"Amber's alright, once you get used to her," Saria said, pushing on a large double door. "Where do you think this goes?"

"Amber's alright?" Madi blinked. "Saria, you don't have to pretend to like everybody, you know!"

"I'm not pretending, I think it's better if we all get along is all."

"Saria has a point. We should at least try and get along with her, that way she won't try to kill us in our sleep or something," Link followed Saria into the huge room.

There was a gasp from Madi.

"What if she does try to do that! I'll never sleep again!" Entering the room, she stopped to stare at the sheer size of it. "Wow, I didn't know Zelda had a ballroom on here!" Flying past the few tables scattered around the room, she came across something she had never seen before. Landing on the square box, she wondered what the circle in the middle was for.

"I think you put one of these on it," Koda pulled a big black disk from a case by the side. Putting it in the correct way, he placed the needle onto the disk and instructed Madi to press the button. After a series of crackles, one of Zelda's favourite ballroom songs came on.

"Oh, I remember this," Saria smiled, sitting at one of the tables. "It was one of the songs Zelda had playing at her fifteenth."

"Oh yeah, the party where all those princes were fighting over who got to dance with her," Link laughed at the memory. "And the one she did want to dance with ended up asking Malon to dance."

"The poor girl," Koda shook his head. "I know what it's like, having hoards of the opposite sex after you."

Madi gave a loud snort.

"May I have this dance, young lady?" Link held out his hand to Saria, pretending to be the prince.

"B-but what about Princess Zelda?" She replied shyly, hiding her face behind her hand like Malon had done.

"Compared to your beauty, she is but a distant blur in my eyes."

"How corny," Koda crossed his arms, trying not to laugh.

"I don't know, I can't dance with someone else that well…" Saria sighed, still hiding half of her face.

"Then dance on my feet!" Link insisted, whisking her off to dance amongst the tables.

"Such a gentleman," she laughed, sliding her arms around his neck and kissing him.

"It's good to see you smiling again," he whispered, returning the kiss.

* * *

"There only seems to be two bedrooms, on such a big ship too," Amber burst into the ballroom to find the others, including Taj sat at one of the tables. "Each has a set of bunk beds."

"Maybe Zelda didn't have time to prepare the ship properly," Taj suggested. "Anyway, I think I'll-"

"Who's sharing with who?" Amber cut across. "How about girls with girls and guys with guys?"

"N-no!" Link spluttered. There was no way he wanted Amber lurking around Saria while she was sleeping. "Me and Saria need to share a room, or… or one of us could suffocate to death!"

"You what?" Amber blinked.

"Yes," Saria continued Link's explanation. "You see, when we're out of the forest, Link and I need to share a room or the air of the outside world will choke us."

"I see," Amber stared at them for a few seconds before shrugging it off. "Okay then, looks like you and me are sharing Taj. I'll see you all in the morning, goodnight."

"She must be a total idiot to believe that," Koda smirked. "Or she's just good at hiding what she really thinks."

"I think it's the former," Madi nodded to herself, knowing she was right.

* * *

Swinging his legs over the side of the ship, Link let his fishing rod drop into the rushing waves. Staring into the water, he was sure the ship was moving faster than it had been yesterday; it was either his imagination or someone or something wanted them to be somewhere fast. Turning his attention behind him, he could see Amber fussing about at the other end of the ship so at least she would be occupied for a little while.

"I wonder what this does? I've seen pictures of them in books but the Gerudos don't own any," Amber mumbled to herself, examining a cannon at the back of the ship. "I guess these things go in it," she picked up a cannon ball with both hands, placing it in the back of the cannon. "But now what?"

"Now you light it!" Madi exclaimed, flying up behind her.

"How?"

"Like this!" The fairy flew past the fuse, lighting it with her magic. "Quick, point it the way you want the ball to go!"

"Hmm," Amber thought for a second. Looking towards an oblivious Link, mischievous laughter filled her head. Pointing the cannon in his direction, she gave an innocent whistle while she waited for the bang.

"I didn't mean like tha-" Madi tried to stop her, but it was too late.

The cannon ball shot across the ship in a blink of an eye, but even that wasn't quick enough for Link. Back flipping out of the way, he could feel his temper rising.

"What the hell did you do that for!"

"Um, I was bored," Amber smiled. "I hoped it wouldn't hit you though, and it didn't!"

"And what if it had?"

"Uh, well, I didn't think that far ahead," she looked to her side to see Madi had disappeared.

"Nice of you," he snatched up his rod and carried on fishing.

Ignoring Link's annoyance, Amber continued to mess around with the cannon. Spinning it with one had, she got another brilliant idea which would cure her boredom for five whole minutes. Rolling another cannon ball into place, she found a pack of matches hidden beneath the rest of them.

"Haha, this will be great!" Striking a match on the pack, she carefully lit the fuse then started spinning the cannon round and round until it could spin by itself. "Where will it blast? Nobody knows!"

"She'll never learn," Link shook his head, watching the cannon ball drifting off to a distant spot behind the ship. However, even after a good few minutes, there was no splash. Deciding to go see where it had landed, he almost fell over when something blasted into the side of their ship.

"Ooh, I hit something big!" Amber clapped her hands. "And it looks like it's mad now." Peering over the back of the ship, she could see another ship coming towards them with a group of angry bokoblins and moblins waving their clubs in the air on deck.

"What's going on?" Saria appeared in the door that led beneath the deck, wincing when another cannon ball struck the ship.

"Oh nothing! Just a friendly game of Shoot the Ship me and these fine creatures have going," Amber grinned. "They're winning."

"In our language, she means we're under attack," Link took out his sword, he had a feeling the enemy wouldn't be happy until they had boarded the ship and repaid them in full for the first attack.

The enemy ship closed in on The Golden Amber, ramming into its side sending Amber tumbling to the floor. Leaping off the side of their own ship, masses of bokoblins swarmed onto the deck.

"Hey, this isn't part of the game!" Amber ducked under a large club being swung at her head. Surrounding the girl, they threw her off the back ledge of the ship with incredible force. There were so many of them.

"You can take Amber with you," Link mumbled to the screeching bokoblins. "I'm sure Zelda would believe it if we said she was kidnapped." Powering up a spin attack, he sent the newest group flying over the edge of the ship.

"Yeah, but they'd bring her back when they find out what she's like," Taj pointed out the painful truth. The noise from above had brought him up from below deck.

While the first group continued to attack the back of the ship, a second group of bokoblins was catapulted over into the centre by the larger moblins. Forming a circle around Amber and Saria, they prepared to attack.

"I'll take these things out," Amber raised her fists. Glaring at the bokoblins, she suddenly felt a surge of powerful magic in the air. "Um, I didn't think these things were magical. Do you feel that energy?"

"I don't feel anything," Saria replied. "But I do have an idea to get rid of them quicker than you could. Grab my hand."

"Grab your hand?" The Gerudo smirked. "I knew you had feelings for me."

"Just hold it!"

"I like a girl who knows what she wants." Taking Saria's hand, Amber got a shock when a small emerald dome formed around them. Increasing in size, it sent the bokoblins soaring off the ship the moment it touched them.

"No way," Amber couldn't believe her eyes. "That magical energy wasn't them, it was you!"

"Would you expect anything less from the Sage of the Forest?" Koda landed on Amber's head.

"Y-you're a Sage?" she couldn't stop herself gaping. "You're as powerful as Queen Nabooru? You?"

"Yeah, is it that shocking?" Saria made her way to the back of the ship were Link and Taj were finishing off the bokoblins.

Yes! I mean, you don't look scary enough to be a Sage," Amber followed her. "Hey, did you two know Saria's a Sage?"

"Nope, she's only my girlfriend, why would I know something as unimportant as that?" Link said sarcastically. Watching the creatures scurrying about on the enemy ship, he could see that only the moblins were left.

"Moblins are far too big to get over here," Koda stated the obvious.

"Yeah but they won't leave until we've defeated them." Taking out his bow, Link hoped some arrows would take care of them. Aiming an arrow, he didn't get a chance to shoot when the ship built up so much speed, it sent the group flying backwards onto the main deck.

"What the heck?" Amber said from the floor. "Why're we moving so fast?"

"Maybe the current is being strange," Saria sat up, rubbing her head.

"Could be, but the moblin ship hasn't moved," Link made his way back to the place he had been standing and looked over the side. The moblin ship was a mere dot on the horizon.

"At least we won't be here for three days if we're moving so fast," Amber smiled, failing to grasp the concept that they were the only ship moving so fast.

* * *

"This place is bigger than I thought," Amber said to herself as she opened a door which led to a small sitting room below deck that evening.

Taking a seat in one of the armchairs, she glanced around the room, hoping to find something of interest. Spotting an unmarked box in the corner of the room, she made her way over to it and slowly opened the top. Inside was a single glass bottle with a mysterious, multi-coloured mist swirling around inside. Not thinking about any consequences, she tried to pull the top off but nothing would work. Turning it over in her hands, she saw a small note stuck to the side.

_Point me at the one whose honesty you desire.  
_I_f the mist turns green, they are surely not a liar.  
__However, if the mist turns red, only lies fill their head._

"Must be something the princess made when she was bored," Amber shrugged. "Can't hurt to test it though."

Pointing the top end of the bottle at herself, she watched the mist twisting in front of her eyes as if to hypnotise her. Making sure no one was in the room, she spoke.

"My middle name is Amber."

The mist changed to a calm green.

"I'm married to an octorok."

The mist changed to an angry red.

"Haha, this thing is gold!"

In a matter of minutes, she had gathered the rest of the group in the sitting room with her, eager to show them her new toy.

"I thought we could play a little game of Spin the Bottle, but without the kissing."

"How would that work?" Taj gulped, he had good reason to dislike such games.

"One person spins this bottle, whoever it points to has to answer a question from the one who span it!" She gave a big smile as if she had just discovered a fourth piece of the Triforce. "Sound fun?"

"I guess it's something to do," Link sat in between Saria and Amber on the floor. "Come on Taj, what have you got to lose?"

"Hmm," Taj sat opposite Link, completing the circle.

Taking the bottle, Amber placed it on the floor and span.

"Looks like I get to ask you first, Link," she grinned. Thinking over the question carefully, she thought it best to start with something light, something that wouldn't cause any fireworks too soon. "How long have you and Saria been together?"

"About two and a half years." he answered, not expecting the mist inside the bottle to change colours.

"So that's the catch, it's a lie detector?" Saria watched the mist change to a light green.

"Exactly, isn't it awesome!" Amber passed the bottle to Link. "Your turn."

"Aw, I wish I could join in!" Madi huffed from her position on one of the chairs.

Spinning the bottle, Link didn't have a clue what to ask when it landed on Taj.

"Um… what is your name?"

Amber slapped her forehead.

After a few rounds of light questions, she decided it was time to bring some excitement to the game. Spinning the bottle, her eyes lit up when it landed on Saria.

"So tell me, what's your bra size?"

Saria almost fainted.

"I'm not answering that!"

Amber looked to her sides. Taj was looking in the other direction while Link was frowning at her.

"Okay, if you don't want to answer then you must do a forfeit!"

"And what would that be?" Saria asked, knowing whatever it was must be better than answering that question.

"Go do a handstand in the corner for the next four questions." To make sure no one else avoided any questions, Amber came up with a new rule out of nowhere. "Since one person is doing a forfeit, no one else can until she's finished!"

Picking up the bottle for her second turn, Amber quickly thought up a question when it landed on Taj.

"How many different people have you kissed?"

"Uh, about… six."

The mist turned green causing Amber to give a loud cackle.

"Six? Tell us more," she needed to know all the gossip.

"It was a year or so ago, we were playing Truth or Dare at one of Zelda's sleepovers. Thinking it would be hilarious, Zelda dared me to kiss everyone in the room, including Link and some girl I'd never even met." Snatching up the bottle before she could probe him for more information, the Sheikah gave it a spin.

"Ooh, it's me!" Amber couldn't wait to answer any questions thrown at her.

Thinking for a second, Taj came up with something suitable.

"How far have you ever gone with a guy?"

"Wow, I didn't think you had it in you, Taj you kinky thing!" Amber give him a thumbs up then sighed. "Anyway, I haven't done anything with a guy since they aren't worth the time."

The mist turned green and there was a shocked silence.

"Yes, it is shocking isn't It?" Spinning the bottle, she had the perfect question when it landed on Link. "So Link, tell me, are you a virgin?"

"Am I a what?" He thought he had heard that somewhere before but couldn't remember what it meant.

Leaning over, she whispered in his ear.

"Oh, yeah, I am." Link was starting to regret joining the game.

The mist turned green for a third time.

"You are? Interesting…" Amber smiled to herself.

* * *

The game had been going on for over half an hour. Taj had left saying he had had enough of the probing but Link and Saria were determined to embarrass Amber sooner or later. Saria had just spun the bottle and it had landed on a confident girl.

"Okay, I have one," Saria knew she would hate this. "What's your real first name?"

"Amber of course!"

The mist turned red.

"Give me a forfeit, I am not answering this!"

"Talk backwards for the next ten turns, The Kokiri smirked, Amber was close to cracking.

"Bah, fine. It's Tanith, okay? Tanith! Nobody is to mention it again, ever!"

The mist twisted into the light green.

"Is that it?" Link couldn't work out why she hated it so much. "The way you went on, I thought it was something terrible."

"Yeah, why don't you like it?" Saria asked.

"Because, it's so… so girly! Do you know what it feels like to have your mother's friends shorten it into even cuter nicknames that make you want to puke?"

"Oh and Amber is a real man's name, isn't it?" Link laughed, ducking out of the way of her fist.

"Whatever, It's my go and I'm going to get you both back for that." Slamming the bottle on the floor, she span it until it stopped on Link.

"This should be good," Koda whispered to Madi who was on the edge of her seat from all the excitement.

"How many pairs of breasts have you felt?"

"Excuse me? If you think I'm answering that you're insane!"

"Then the forfeit is to strip and stay like that for an hour. Your choice." Amber snickered.

"Ok, none."

The mist went red.

"One."

Still red.

"Two?"

"Oh dear, Link you naughty boy," Amber watched the mist stay on red.

"It must be broken," he growled. By the time he had gotten to the number five, the mist was still red. "I'm not like that!"

"But the mist says otherwise. What do you think Saria?" Amber turned to a pale Saria.

"Um, I think I'm going to get some air," Saria got up to leave.

"I'll come too," Link went to follow her.

"No, I'd rather be alone," She left without waiting for a reply.

"Someone's in a mood," Amber said after Saria had gone. "What she needs is a girlfriend, not some guy who'll treat her like dirt."

"My go," Link mumbled, his voice emotionless. Picking up the bottle, he didn't realise how annoyed he was until the thing smashed when he brought it down. "I think the game is over."

"Not my fault there's trouble in paradise," Amber grinned. "I guess I won the game."

* * *

A bitter wind whistled across the top of the deck, rattling through the loose floorboards caused by the day's attack. Ignoring the cold of the night, Link stood in the shadows away from the moonlight, watching Saria leaning on the side of the ship. She didn't look annoyed but it was hard to tell with her sometimes. Taking a step closer, he could hear the floorboards creaking beneath his boots, along with the whistling of the wind, it was hard for him to sneak anywhere.

"Saria, I-" he started to say when he got close enough.

"It's ok," she said quietly without taking her attention away from the surface of the water. "I believe you."

"Thank you," he shot her a weak smile.

"At first I was annoyed, hurt even. But when I thought it over I realised you'd never do anything to hurt me, you don't have the conscience."

"I am wondering why the bottle kept saying I was lying though," Link looked into the water which appeared to be moving faster than it had been at the beginning of the day. "And why the ship is moving so fast."

"I've noticed it t-"

A loud rumble came from beneath the waves as a shadow twice the size of the ship crept towards them.

"Do you see that!" Link leaned right over to get a better look.

Before either of them knew it, a long tentacle smashed through the centre of the boat, sending both of them tumbling into the depths of the ocean.


	6. The Four

A rush of water crashed down over him and in mere seconds he found himself being thrown around below the waves. Each time he caught his breath another wall of water sent him further beneath the surface, followed by a deafening noise which could only be described as some kind of roar from what he assumed was coming from that huge silhouette. Struggling to keep his head above water, Link anxiously scanned around for Saria in the darkness. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on contacting her but it was no use, something was blocking the connection. Not wiling to give up he started to think of an item he could use that would let him move in the water more easily. Taking out the Zora Mask Link was sure it would help defeat whatever this thing was, the darkness of the night hiding it from his view. Placing the mask over his face, he braced himself for the transformation. Nothing happened. Before he had a chance to take in the shock, a long, thick snake-like being wrapped itself around his body. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't reach any of his items, the thing that had grabbed him was gradually sucking the life out of him, dragging him down into the depths of the ocean.

"Why hello there, what's your name?" Amber spoke loudly in her sleep, obviously having some sort of delirious fantasy. Rolling over on the bottom bunk, she draped her arm over the shield which was lying next to her. "Oh, you're eager aren't you? Yes, you're right, names aren't important."

There was a loud roar as something bashed into the side of the ship, waking both the Gerudo and Sheikah with a start. Falling from her bed, Amber groaned.

"Whatever just woke me out of my dream is so gonna pay! Was it you Sheikah boy?" She snarled up at Taj who was leaning over the edge of the top bunk looking just as surprised as she was.

"I think whatever it was is far bigger than me," he said, slipping from the bunk to look out the window. "Look at that!" He gasped at the sight of the huge silhouette flailing about at the side of the ship.

"What the hell is that!" She shoved him out of the way to get a better look. The 'thing' was twice the height of the ship and probably twice as wide too, Squinting into the darkness, Amber screamed when the moon reappeared from behind the clouds to reveal the silhouette's true identity.

Seven silver tentacles glistened in the moonlight as they swung around the massive main body of the monster whilst an eighth tentacle remained holding something under the water. Turning its large head towards the ship, they were almost blinded by its glowing blue eyes which glared at them angrily. When it lifted one of its long tentacles over its head, Amber almost fainted.

"Saria!" She screamed, leaning at a dangerous angle out of the window.

Ignoring the girl's cries, the beast hurled the unconscious Kokiri through the air, slamming another tentacle down on top of her.

"We have to stop it!" The Gerudo grabbed her shield and before Taj could stop her, she had leapt out of the window into the ocean below.

"Don't worry Saria, I'll save you!" Amber exclaimed, thrashing about in the water with the shield strapped to her back. Feeling herself being pulled down by the weight of the weapon, she started screaming when she remembered she couldn't swim. "Help, somebody save me!"

A tentacle soon appeared and wrapped itself tightly around her, dragging the girl and the shield beneath the waves. Not wasting any time, the remaining tentacles crashed through the very centre of the ship, sending pieces of wood flying in every direction. Leaping off at the last minute, Taj tumbled headfirst into the middle of a newly formed whirlpool which had been created by the monster.

"This is terrible!" Madi yelled, grabbing Koda's arm. "What are we supposed to do?"

"I-I don't know…" the other fairy looked on in horror at the scene. He had always assumed that Link was some kind of superhuman who would emerge and save the day like he usually did. But he had disappeared and now there was no one.

And then it happened.

A stream of light tore through the silent sky, letting off a high-pitched shriek of a sound which scared the monster into letting go of its victims in a frenzied panic. A fountain of bright colours erupted from the noise, raining down over the fleeing enemy as it disappeared back beneath the ocean to escape the terrifying noises.

* * *

"Ugh, not again!" Zelda groaned when she heard another scream coming from the entrance to the Lost Woods. For the last few days the Kokiri kids had been screaming about some kind of monster roaming about in the Lost Woods but every single time she went to investigate, she found nothing. The princess was starting to wonder if the children often played pranks like this on each other; after all, they must get bored being in the village all the time for days on end.

Pushing herself up from her sleeping bag on Saria's floor, she tiredly walked towards the door to see that the sun hadn't even risen yet. Turning back into the house the girl looked over at the sleeping Nori who had decided he would help her out while she was staying there. It was funny to her, she'd always imagined having a fairy companion would be rather annoying but Nori was quite interesting when he wasn't moping around thinking about past events. She could imagine him as Saria's guardian, chasing her through the Lost Woods when she didn't listen to him, having long conversation all night about nothing in particular, living a life in ignorant bliss of the outside world. For a brief moment, Zelda found herself wishing she could have something like that, a best friend for life who would always be there no matter what she did. It was easy to understand why Link had been so upset when Navi had left him, she had been that part of him that he'd always longed for.

Putting on her boots, she thought it best to go and see what the problem was, just in case the unlikely event of a monster entering the village did happen. Picking up the emerald sword from the floor, she moved towards the door only to be stopped by a waking fairy.

"Are they at it again?" Nori yawned.

"Yeah, does Saria have to put up with this too?"

"Not really, some of the Kokiri like to play jokes but not to this extreme," the fairy flew up and landed on her shoulder. "And anyway, Saria would find it funny, having played her fair share of pranks in her time."

"Saria?" Zelda raised an eyebrow. "She doesn't seem the type."

"It takes a while to get to know all sides of her personality," he grinned. "Ever heard of a monster that has the body of a boy and head of a wolfos? She insisted to Mido that one had chased her through the Lost Woods once, he wouldn't leave his house for days after that! That girl has one crazy imagination."

Listening to more of Nori's stories about the antics of the children, Zelda made her way up to the cliff by the Lost Woods entrance.

"What's wrong Rela?" It hadn't taken the princess long to learn most of their names and she had been informed by most of the villagers that Rela was always up to mischief, although most of it was harmless and good-spirited.

"I just saw that thing again! Right in there!" The small girl pointed into the depths of the woods.

"Are you sure? I don't see anything," Nori said, squinting through the trees.

"Well you wouldn't out here, it's inside!" Rela insisted. "Just go see for yourselves."

"I did yesterday, more than once, but if it will make you feel better," Zelda mumbled, walking through the first hollow log.

Pushing her way through some low branches, she stood in the centre of a cluster of tall trees trying to spot anything suspicious amongst the leaves. Moving on to another area, she started thinking Rela must have been seeing things yet again when suddenly, there was a loud rustling noise above her head. Looking up in a flash, her eyes searched the braches for any signs of life but there was nothing there. Stepping back a few steps in total silence she almost jumped when she stood on a loose twig, the cracking sound echoing all around her.

Coming to the conclusion that there was nothing 'monstrous' of the sort in the woods, Zelda made to leave through the log tunnel. Walking towards the base of one of the biggest trees she got the fright of her life when something, or more likely someone, leaned down from the branch it had been hiding on and gave a loud piercing howl. Leaping back into a defensive position, she scowled when the 'thing' started laughing.

"Think you're funny, huh?" she smirked. Pressing both hands together she aimed them towards the sound of the laughter and sent a blast of magic straight for it.

The thing let out a hurt yelp before tumbling out of the tree in surprise. Untangling itself from a pile of leaves which had fallen along with it, the princess could see that their monster had been no more than a teenage boy. Remaining on his knees in the dirt, the boy put both hands on the floor in front of himself and started growling, his dark eyes focusing on an amused Zelda.

"What are you supposed to be?" She smiled. Looking at the boy closer, she could see that he didn't have any unusual features so he must have been Hylian, especially if the pointed ears were anything to go by. Moving a little closer she reached out a hand and patted his short matted brown hair. "Well, you're definitely human; one in need of a bath," she mumbled, taking her hand out of his dirty hair.

"Wolfoses don't take baths!" he snarled, flicking her hand away with his own.

"Right. What is a scary 'wolfos' like yourself doing scaring the inhabitants of this forest?"

"I wasn't scaring anyone, I'm just looking for my friend," the boy insisted, jumping to his feet so he could be the same height as this girl who didn't seem to be scared of him in the slightest. The sleeves of his filthy, long-sleeved jacket rolled down his skinny arms when he straightened them. The boy looked like he hadn't eaten much for days.

"Who is your friend?" Zelda asked. "Do you know who he's talking about Nori?"

"No idea," the fairy replied. "I've never seen this kid before so he can't be from the forest but he seems harmless so the Deku Sprout must have granted him access to the Lost Woods."

"He's a little brown wolfos," the boy explained. "He's different from most of them because he only has three legs. I know he's around here somewhere, I can smell his scent!" He threw himself down on his knees again, sniffing the floor as if he could actually smell his friend.

"Oh, I know who he's talking about," Nori whispered to Zelda. "Link and Saria found a wolfos like that a few weeks ago, they assumed he'd been abandoned by his pack so took him in."

"I see," Zelda started at the strange boy on the ground. "Do you know if Saria has any soap and other bath stuff?"

"Um, I think so. What do you want it for?"

"This boy needs a bath before going anywhere, whether he likes it or not."

* * *

The last thing she remembered was jumping into the ocean to try and fight that huge thing but it hadn't gone as well as it had looked in her mind. The Gerudo started to wonder if she was dead. The only thing she could see was darkness, so why did she feel so warm? Feeling her body slowly waking up, she moved her legs a little then struggled to open her eyes to find she was lying under a blanket on a beach. If this was the afterlife it wasn't so bad, at least she could sunbathe. Shifting her legs out from under the blanket, she blinked when she realised someone had removed all of her clothes. Turning to one side she could see a small fire crackling in the morning light, hers and Taj's clothes lying neatly next to it along with their weapons.

"Hey, did you strip me!" She wrapped the blanket around herself, wriggling over to Taj who had just woken up.

"Huh? Of course not!" He exclaimed. "The last thing I remember is falling off the ship and then I woke up here, without my clothes!"

"Relax, they're over there," Amber pointed towards the fire. "I'd like to know who did this though, I guess you could say they saved our lives."

"Yeah, but where are the others?" The Sheikah pulled his blanket tighter around himself.

"I don't know…" Amber glanced into the ocean, bits of the wrecked ship floated past her eyes. "What if they didn't make it?"

A burning sensation ripped through his chest as he struggled along the beach. Falling to his knees Link placed his hands on the dry sand to stop himself collapsing face-first, his body shivering from the feel of the soaking clothes he still had on. Bracing himself to stand again, he carried on stumbling along the sand in the hopes he would find someone soon.

"Saria!" He called again but got no answer. He had tried contacting her mentally but there was nothing, she must have been unconscious. He couldn't stop thinking about her or the others, if anything had happened to them he convinced himself it was his fault; after all, if the Zora mask had worked none of this would have happened. It was his responsibility to protect people and he'd failed.

"Damn it!" He tossed the useless mask on the floor, his ribs aching with every movement he made. "SARIA!"

"I knew you'd make a terrible guardian!" A familiar voice echoed along the beach. "Wait, did you just hear Link?"

"I'm a what!" Another familiar voice snapped. "She's not even my charge!"

"Shut up! I think I can hear Link," Madi ignored a furious Koda and fluttered away in the direction of the yelling.

"Madi?" Link picked up the mask as the fairy came into view.

"There you are!" She perched herself on his shoulder. "You don't look so good, maybe you should rest."

"Not until I find Saria. Have you seen her?"

"Um, sort of."

"What do you mean by that?" Link started walking in the direction the fairy had come from.

"Well, we found her passed out on the shore so we went to find help but by the time we got back she was gone. And we didn't even find any help." Madi could see the boy's expression change from being relieved when he heard Saria was alive to annoyed when she told him she had disappeared.

"She must be still unconscious since she hasn't contacted me, that means someone must have taken her somewhere." Link frowned. "Come on, let's carry on going, she can't be far."

* * *

She stood silently on the cracked stone floor, a lone torch flickered in the corner of the room casting a dim orange glow which caused small shadows to creep along the walls. In front of her were three large stone steps leading up to a solid wall, these were the first steps she would take when the journey finally began. Hearing footsteps coming from outside, she turned towards the entrance to see a silhouette leaning against one side of it, the daylight from outside flashed into her eyes stopping her from seeing the figure's identity.

"Looks like it's almost time for you to let everyone down, Alanna." The figure sneered in a confident male voice.

"What do you mean?" The girl recognised the voice straightaway.

"Didn't you hear? They found a girl on the beach, she's hurt pretty bad but they say she'll be alright when the healer is through with her. It looks like she's from another country and they found another two who look like they're from somewhere else too. That makes three, how many did your grandmother say there would be?"

"Four," she could feel her heartbeat increasing at the mere thought of the beginning getting closer.

"Only one more then," the boy smirked. "You should come back to camp, your father wants to see you." Leaving the place without another word, the boy left the girl known as Alanna standing in the darkness.

Walking out into the morning sun, Alanna placed a beige hat over her long, bushy brown hair and made her way back to camp. She didn't know why she always wore that hat, her mother had given it to her years ago saying it was similar to the ones archaeologists and explorers wore. The idea of exploring the country had always appealed to the teenager, it was a dream of hers to travel to as many different places as possible and draw the amazing sights she was sure she would see.

Entering the campsite, she heard her father calling her from within the healer's tent.

"Ah there you are Alanna, I assume you've heard the news by now?" Her father's deep voice asked as she entered the large tent. Even though he wasn't an elderly man, his rugged face and aging grey hair gave him the appearance of someone much older. The dark eyes he had passed onto his daughter looked warmly at her when she came in.

"Um, kind of," she blinked, pushing a pair of thin-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose. Alanna Laramie could only be described as an average girl. Her frizzy hair stuck out in all directions giving anyone who saw her the impression that she never brushed it. Walking further into the tent, she took off her long-sleeved jacket the same colour as her hat and placed it on an empty hook. The strong smell of healing herbs drifted into her nose from the corner of the tent where an elderly woman sat huddled in a cloak, a large cauldron in front of her full of homemade remedies. Next to her there was a girl she had never seen before unconscious under a pile of blankets.

"That girl has strong magical energy," her father commented. "It is what kept her alive after that attack."

"It's fortunate you had those fireworks, Akimaru has been so restless lately but has never attacked anyone like that." The healer said, stirring the ingredients of the cauldron.

"It can only one mean thing," the man turned to his daughter. "I sent Lucas to fetch the other two we found on the beach this morning, they should be awake by now."

* * *

"Dunno why he sent me out here to find them," the boy who had recently spoken with Alanna mumbled, making his way through a cluster of trees which led to the shore. Stepping onto the warm sand he got a shock when he saw a girl with orange hair completely naked in front of the fire, reaching down for her now dry clothes. Looking up half way through dressing she sent him an angry scowl.

"What do you think you're doing, you little perv!" Amber screamed, throwing the rest of her clothes on and rushing over to the boy with her fists raised.

"U-uh nothing! Not my fault you were stupid enough to get changed out in the open for anyone to see you," the boy defended himself.

"What's going on now?" Taj emerged from the trees in his dry clothes.

"This pervert thought he could spy on me when I was dressing, that's what!" Amber insisted, ignoring any excuses the boy threw at her.

"I don't think anyone would want to do that," the Sheikah smirked. Hearing movement behind, he turned his head to see a worn out Link trudging along the beach with the fairies trailing after him.

"I'm glad you two are safe," Link gave a weak smile. "Have either of you seen Saria?"

"Huh?" Amber forgot about the newcomer and walked over to Link. "You mean she's not with you?"

"If she was do you think I'd be asking about her!" Link snapped. He was tired, soaking, his ribs ached and the most important person in his life had disappeared, dealing with Amber being her usual self was something he was not in the mood for.

"Does this Saria girl have green hair?" The boy Amber had been arguing with asked.

"Yeah, she does." Link looked over at the boy. He was slightly taller than him with short copper-coloured hair which had been flicked up in the back. He had his arms crossed over a zipped-up red jacket and looked as if he wasn't amused at Amber's accusations.

"I'll take you to her," he said. "I'm Lucas by the way."

"I refuse to give my name to a pervert," Amber pushed past him, not willing to see reason.

"She's Amber, I'm Link, this guy is Taj and the fairies are Vain and Loud," Link smirked.

"Hey, I'm not vain!" Madi protested "Which means you think I'm loud? I'm hurt Link."

"Right," Lucas didn't know what to think of these people. Were they really the four? "You should wear this until we get there, you look like you need it." He took off his jacket and handed it to Link who took it gratefully.

"Found them and another," Lucas led the three into the healer's tent. "Looks like we have four now Alanna."

"Saria," Link said, not hearing anything Lucas was saying to the people in the tent. Moving past Lucas he made his way over to where she was lying, her usually cheerful face was pale and lifeless. He was still insisting to himself that it was all his fault. If the Zora mask had worked it would have been fine and no one would be hurt. Or if he had tried harder to defeat whatever that monster had been, Saria might not be in this state. "Will she be ok?" He asked the room, taking her hand in his.

"She will be fine after a long rest," The healer said softly. "Let me look you over boy."

"No, I'm alright," Link insisted but it was impossible to say no to the healer. An aged hand appeared from within the cloak and hovered over him for a few moments.

"Two broken ribs," she concluded without even touching the wounded area. "You'll need to sleep while I heal your bones."

"B-but-"

"No buts. You must rest before your injury gets any worse." Before Link could reject her offers any more, a pair of glistening yellow eyes appeared from within the cloak, deep spirals swirled inside them sending anyone who looked their way into a deep sleep. Ordering the rest of the group out of the tent, she prepared the spells ready to begin healing once again.

Outside the tent, Alanna set herself on a small bench in the centre of the campsite along with Lucas who had insisted on joining her.

"I wish Uncle wasn't so stubborn and would let me go in your place," Lucas sighed. "Because let's face it Alanna, even if you were capable of taking on such a task you don't look like you want to."

"We don't even know if they're the ones," she mumbled, trying to ignore her cousin.

Seeing Lucas harassing Alanna, Amber decided to stroll over to the bench to assist her.

"If this guy's your boyfriend you better watch it, he likes to stare at other girls while they're changing." Amber announced as loud as she could.

Alanna burst out laughing.

"He is not my boyfriend! Just my annoying cousin who thinks he's something special."

Swinging the shield off her back,. Amber let is rest in front of her, smiling mischievously at the two of them. Seeing the look on Alanna's face when she saw the shield, the Gerudo stopped smiling, something in the way the other girl was staring at her made her feel uneasy.

"W-what is that?" Alanna swallowed hard.

"This? Some shield I found. It's pretty cool but we have to take it back to some shrine or something. Do you know where it is?"

"So do you still think they aren't the ones?" Lucas gave his cousin a satisfied smirk. He loved being right.


	7. It Only Takes A Turn

The first thing Link felt when he woke up was the warm feeling of someone holding his hand. Struggling to sit up, he was relieved when he opened his eyes to see Saria sitting at his side.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up," she smiled, still holding his hand.

"I'm glad you're ok," he returned the smile. "No one would have been hurt if I had dealt with it better though, if the-"

"Don't put yourself down so much," Saria interrupted him. "The important thing is that everyone survived, right?"

Link knew she was right but the feeling of guilt wouldn't stop tugging at him from the inside.

"I know that, but if the Zora Mask had worked we might have had a chance of beating whatever that thing was."

"The masks from Termina don't work in Hyrule though, do they?" Saria remembered him trying to show her how they worked before in Hyrule.

"No but they've worked elsewhere," Link reminded her. "It must be something to do with the magical energy of this place."

"How do you feel anyway?" She let go of his hand and went to get his dry clothes from where the healer had left them before everyone else had left the tent.

"Much better now that I'm healed," he took his clothes from her. "And now that I know you're safe." Link pulled her close and kissed her.

"That's good," she returned the kiss. "But…"

"But what?"

"You should get dressed since your blankets are slipping," Saria grinned.

"Uh, right," Link blushed. Before either of them had a chance to move, there was a clucking sound from the entrance of the tent. A small cucco had decided it wanted some attention.

"So they have cuccos here too, Malon would like this place," Saria laughed.

"Cucco… Malon… cucco… cucco breasts!" Link exclaimed. "I'm going to kill Amber when this is over!"

* * *

When everyone had gathered in the centre of the campsite, Alanna felt it was time to properly introduce herself.

"Since we don't know how long you four will be here, I thought it best if we get to know each either a little better," the girl spoke up.

"What do you mean? We're here to return that shield to the Shrine of Imitia then leave. No fuss." Link insisted. "Do you know where we can find it?"

Thinking it over, Alanna thought it would be easier to take them to the shrine then explain the situation when they saw it for themselves. Nodding to Link, she led them out of the campsite and through the masses of trees that hid the shrine from all apart from those who knew it existed. Pushing some low branches out of the way, she revealed an enormous concrete archway which was sealed with a large stone door. Ancient carvings crawled up the sides of the archway itself whilst the door had a plain design of six symmetrical circles carved into the stone.

"Wow, this place is bigger than the one in Meldora," Saria said with awe. Walking toward the stone doorway, she ran a hand along it, feeling the smooth stone beneath her fingers.

"Just a little," Link turned to Alanna. "So do you know how we open it?"

Alanna nodded, pointing at the six circles on the door.

"Each circle represents one of the spirits of Asterlin, we need all six to open the door to Imitia."

There was a stunned silence.

"We're not going home today, are we?" Taj spoke up, saying what the rest were afraid of.

"We'll get those spirits here, no problem!" Amber grinned. "Me and this shield are an unstoppable combination!"

"Asterlin has been waiting a long time for the shield to return to Imitia, the spirits have been restless without it." Alanna stood in front of the door.

"So basically, we _have_ to collect these spirits to return the shield?" Link frowned. This had not been part of the original plan but he should have been used to things like this happening by now.

"What do we do? Just find them and ask for their help?" Saria asked.

"It's a little more complicated," Alanna took a breath. "When you manage to find each spirit, you'll need to prove that you're worthy of its help by defeating it, then you will need the help of a summoner to capture it."

"Ok, we need to find a summoner before all that then," Link hoped the list of things they needed to do wouldn't get any longer.

"Well, that's where I come in," Alanna gave a weak smile. "I'm meant to be a summoner, and you four are meant to help me."

"Meant to?" Taj raised an eyebrow. "Why couldn't you get another group of four people from your family or elsewhere together?"

"Before my grandmother died a year ago, she told my father that four would come from a distant land and bring forth the light that would free Asterlin from the darkness. I know it sounds far-fetched but she was known for being a great Seer of her time, then you four show up with the shield we've been looking for so it fits perfectly!"

"Hmm, I always wanted to be a chosen one," Amber smiled to herself and slipped into a daydream where hundreds of people were cheering her name as she was carried through them on a golden throne.

"Who says you're a 'chosen one'?" Link folded his arms. "It could still be any four people, not like her grandmother said Tanith Amber Farrenz- whatever the heck your full name is, would be one of the four."

"It's Farrenzolinackerishla! And my name is _not_ Tanith!" Amber screamed, lunging towards Link who stepped out of her way. "I'm obviously one of the chosen ones, I have the shield, remember?"

"Well, if we are going to be together for a while, you can at least tell me your names," Alanna interrupted them, not wanting an argument so soon. "My name is Alanna, Alanna Laramie."

"Right, I'm Taj, it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Alanna," Taj held out his hand for her to shake.

"'Miss' Alanna?" Amber snickered. "I'm Amber and this," she draped an arm around Saria, "is my sexy girlfriend."

Saria almost choked while Link was very close to knocking Amber out, female or not.

"I'm Saria and I'm not your girlfriend Amber, and I'm not sexy," Saria stuck her tongue out at the Gerudo.

"Maybe not in that jumper you have on but we can change that," Amber grinned. "I can just see you in some Gerudo clothing, rawr,"

"That's enough of that!" Link stopped her before she could carry on. "I'm Link and where're Madi and Koda?" They hadn't seen the troublesome two since arriving in the healer's tent.

"Hey, these things insist they're with you," Lucas' voice came through the trees. Pushing the last of the branches out of the way, he emerged with Madi and Koda sat on his head. "They've been harassing me for ages."

"I am not a thing!" Koda huffed. "I'm a respected guardian fairy!"

"Respected by who?" Madi smirked. "Maybe your reflection but that's about it."

"I bet they weren't in your grandmother's story," Link looked at Alanna who had never seen a fairy up close before.

"I thought you would have taken them to the other shrine by now Alanna," Lucas commented. "Or are you scared in case none of you come out again?"

"Other shrine? How many shrines do you people need?" Amber wondered aloud.

"The other shrine is more of a test than anything, but it holds something very important," Alanna told them. "If you believe in what I've told you then please, come with me."

* * *

Making her way through the Lost Woods, Zelda slowed down to wait for the boy to catch up. It had been a struggle but she had managed to push him into the small pond in the woods and clean him up a little. Following the girl out into the Sacred Meadow, he shot her a scowl which she ignored.

"Are you sure you needed to do that?" Nori whispered into her ear, avoiding eye contact with the angry boy.

"Of course, if he wants to come to the Forest Temple then he needs to at least smell decent," Zelda assured the fairy. "Now, we're almost there," she told the boy behind her.

Entering the labyrinth which led to the temple, the princess got a shock when a deku scrub popped out of the ground near her. Taking out the emerald sword, she was about to attack when the boy leapt in front of her. Searching through his jacket, he took out a trowel-shaped weapon with a short handle which curled into a ring at the end. Placing the weapon in his mouth, he got down on his hands and knees and rushed toward the enemy, leaping over its head when he got close enough. Taking the weapon from his mouth, he span around and stabbed the thing right in the head, killing it in one blow.

"I was going to use the sword but your way works too," Zelda sheathed the sword, impressed at the boy's survival skills.

Letting him finish off the rest of the deku scrubs, she led him up the stone stairway into the Sacred Meadow. Standing on the last of the steps, the boy came to a sudden stop, unable to walk any further.

"What's wrong?" Zelda asked.

"I can't go any further," he told her.

"Sure you can, just take a step forward," The princess instructed.

Trying to move forward, the boy shook his head in disappointment, there was some sort of invisible barrier blocking the way.

"You know, this place is quite personal to Saria, I'd imagine she wouldn't appreciate you bringing random people here," Nori said, a little too late for Zelda's liking.

"Why didn't you tell me before we got here then? This must be why he can't enter, he doesn't have Saria's permission." Zelda mumbled then thought for a moment. "Alright, you wait here with him and I'll go find his friend."

Leaving Nori with the boy, Zelda managed to clamber up the large tree which was the only way into the temple. Having been in the temple before, the girl wasn't put off by the dark, eerie atmosphere of the old building. Finding the door to the courtyard, she almost screamed when Perri leered down over her, putting his beak in her face.

"Hi Perri," she smiled, petting his small head. Hearing something rushing clumsily towards her, she looked down to see a small wolfos cub peering up at her through wide yellow eyes. "And you must be what I'm looking for," she said, picking up the cub and stroking him.

Arriving back in the meadow, she saw the boy sat on the top step in silence while Nori hovered close by, not really saying much. She hadn't known the fairy long but had a feeling he wasn't very good at communicating with new people. Putting the wolfos down, she was pleased to see it run straight for the boy who looked delighted to finally see his friend again.

"I'm glad you're ok Fang," the boy smiled, hugging the wolfos.

"Fang?" Nori asked. "Why has a tiny thing like him got such a name?"

"I couldn't think of anything better I guess," the boy shrugged. "What've you been calling him?"

"Link, the one who found him, thought it would be fitting to name him Travis after a friend who lost one of his arms a while ago."

"Travis huh? I like that name, how about you boy?" He asked the wolfos who licked his face happily. "I think he likes it too."

"That's great," Zelda was glad the problem of the mysterious 'monster' had been solved at last. "You should probably head home if that's all you needed."

"Yeah, I probably should," the boy stood there for a moment, unsure of what else to say. "Thanks for helping me, um…"

"My name is Zelda and what would yours be?"

"Uh, I don't have one so you can just call me… Fang."

Nori put his hand on his face and shook his head in dismay.

"Ok, so I don't have a very good imagination," he sighed then realised something. "Hey, you have the same name as the princess of Hyrule!"

"Yeah, it was popular a few years back, my parents must have the same taste as the king and queen," Zelda chuckled to herself. "Come on, I'll show you the way out of here."

"Right, thanks again Zelda," the boy gave her a genuine smile.

* * *

Stepping into the building she had been standing in not long ago, Alanna waited for the others to file in after her.

"So, what's this place for? Some sort of sacrifice?" Amber asked, looking around the dark room. The lone torch continued to crackle in the corner, enabling them to faintly see the details of the room.

"This is where it begins," Alanna said, taking a few steps forward. "Within this shrine are the items we need to seek out the spirits"

Looking around the group, she took note of the variety of weapons she could see. Link had a small sword strapped to his back, she wasn't sure how useful something that size would be but at least it was something. Taj also had a sword, placed in the hilt in the side of his belt and it looked to be able to do more damage than Link's blade. Switching her attention to Amber, she wondered if the girl could actually use the shield properly or if she just flung it around and got lucky whilst attacking enemies. She came to the conclusion that only time would tell.

"Hey Saria, what weapon do you use?" Alanna asked, not being able to see any in sight. She remembered her father saying this girl had strong magical energy but it was rare to not see people using some sort of weapon to channel their energy, at least the people she had met in the past.

"The Forest Sage doesn't need a weapon!" Madi exclaimed.

"Sage? Did you mean mage? You don't look like a Sage to me," Alanna said. The word Sage made her think of extremely powerful beings, not young girls like Saria who looked like they wouldn't harm a fly.

"That's what I thought too!" Amber butted in, glad to find someone else who agreed with her.

"No, she definitely means Sage," Saria grinned. "Some people don't believe it until they see it for themselves."

"So I take it you're the most powerful one of the group?" Alanna asked, thinking she must be right.

"Oh no, that's Link," Saria replied casually.

Alanna didn't know what to think. The most powerful people in her group were a girl with no weapons and a guy with a tiny sword? She was starting to wonder if she wanted to put her faith in these people.

"This sword can do more than you'd think," Link assured Alanna. "Anyway, how do we get into this place? I don't see any door."

"What are you talking about? There's a door right here," Taj said, standing in front of a stone door in the wall.

Taking out the Lens of Truth, Link used it to look in the direction the Sheikah was referring to.

"Oh, now I see it. I forgot you could see things like that."

"What is that thing?" Alanna asked, trying to get a look through it over Link's shoulder.

"It's called a Lens of Truth, it helps people with magical energy to see things they wouldn't normally," the boy explained.

"Cool but how come you didn't need to use it?" She asked Taj.

"It was made by my people, we can naturally see things most others can't," the taller boy smiled. "Now, shall we go in?"

Entering the main door of the shrine, they were greeted with another dimly lit room, a thin layer of mist clouding their vision as they tried to see what exactly was ahead. Moving slowly forward, Amber got a shock when her foot stepped onto thin air.

"Uh-oh, I don't think we can go any further," she squinted through the mist to see a large chasm between them and the other side of the room. "Well, it was good while it lasted but this little adventure is already over. Guess we aren't who you're looking for."

"I take it you can't see the platforms going across," Taj said, leaping onto the nearest platform which caused Alanna to scream out in terror.

"How are you doing that!" Her face was pale as she watched the boy standing on what looked like nothingness in her eyes.

Using the lens once again, Link could easily see the invisible platforms; but how would they all be able get across if Alanna was so nervous?

"Didn't something like this happen to you in Termina?" Saria asked him.

"Oh yeah, with the owl!" Link remembered the owl who had placed feathers on the invisible platforms for him to use as a guide. "But we don't have any feathers… Ah, how about deku seeds?"

Taking out a handful of seeds, he leapt onto the same platform as Taj and gave them to the Sheikah.

"Place one of these on each of the platforms so people know where to jump."

Following Link's instructions, Taj placed a few seeds on each platform; hoping people wouldn't find it too difficult to get from one to the other without losing their nerve.

Going back to the others, Link gave the lens to Saria.

_Wouldn't it be better if Alanna had this? _She asked him telepathically.

_You would think but does she honestly look like she's had experience with magic before?_

Both of them looked at Alanna who was standing nervously at the side of the cliff, her face pale with fright.

_I see what you mean. _Saria took the lens and started to make her way across the platforms.

"Ok, I'll help you two across," Link turned to Alanna and Amber.

"I don't need the help of a guy," Amber insisted. "I'll just follow Saria."

Ignoring the conversation going on around her, Alanna's eyes had adjusted to the darkness which wasn't helping anything; now that she could see the massive gap between them and the other side of the room made her wonder if she really was meant to be on this journey. Was Lucas right, would he be better for the task?

"Hey Alanna, are you coming?" Link asked, standing on the first platform.

"I-I can't," she stuttered. "What if I fall?"

"You won't," he held out his hand for her. "Take my hand, all you have to do is step onto the platform."

Taking a deep breath, Alanna took a final look back toward the exit then grabbed Link's hand. Forcing herself to jump onto the platform next to him, she was relieved to find they did actually exist and she wouldn't fall into the endless pit beneath. However, just as she thought she was safe, the mist suddenly disappeared, revealing the details of the room.

"What the hell is that thing up there?" Amber pointed to something hanging from the ceiling. To the Gerudo it looked like some sort of monster made from stone with large wings and a long tall wrapped around its legs. Clawed hands and feet hung down at its sides, giving the impression it could tear its enemies apart given half the chance.

"That appears to be a gargoyle, they're stone creatures that can be found guarding ancient relics usually found in places like this," Koda explained, glad to be able to show off at last.

"The purple blob does have his uses," Madi smirked, receiving a glare from the male fairy.

"I have a bad feeling about this, we need to get off these platforms, right now," Saria could feel the energy radiating down from the ceiling. Taking a step in the direction of the next platform, her suspicions were answered when a low rumble came from above.

"I'm going back!" Alanna screamed, only having stepped onto the first platform. Turning to jump back to the ledge she had just been on, she got a shock when a magical barrier appeared, blocking the only route of escape. A similar barrier appeared over the other side where Taj had almost reached, blocking anyone from leaving the platform area safely.

Keeping their eyes to the ceiling, they could see the gargoyle slowly waking, its long tail unravelling from its legs while its claws stretched themselves out after what must have been centuries. Letting out another deep rumble, the stone creature opened its large eyes, revealing emotionless blood red sockets. Tilting its head in the direction of the centre of the room, its eyes zoned in on Saria and Amber who were standing one platform apart. Not waiting another second, the monster bolted forward, aiming to knock the two girls clean off the platforms.

"Look out!" Link exclaimed.

Both girls leapt to the platforms either side just as the thing dove towards them; the sheer size of its body sent the deku seeds flying into the pit below. Spinning around when it realised it had missed its targets, the gargoyle sent a stream of fire towards Amber who quickly put the shield in front of herself. Letting the shield absorb the burning flames, she lost control of the weapon when it started shaking violently. Almost dropping it to one side, she gasped when the energy within the shield erupted to the surface, blazing out in the direction of Saria.

"Eek!" The Kokiri let her instincts take over and raised the lens to protect herself. The flames bounced off the magical glass, flaring back towards the gargoyle who got a nasty shock when it was burned by its own attack.

"What do you think you're doing!" Link shouted at Amber. Taking out his sword, he was about to join Saria on her platform when the gargoyle decided it wanted to swoop towards him and Alanna instead.

Giving a loud shriek, Alanna gripped onto Link's arm, stopping him from taking out any more weapons. Pushing her to the side, Link took the hit from the enemy, tumbling backwards off the platform.

"Link!" Saria sent a wave of emerald magic towards the boy that quickly changed into a bright green cyclone, sending him spiralling upwards over the angered gargoyle.

Seeing his chance, Link opened the palm of his hand just as he was about to land on the creature's back; the burning energy of Din's Fire blazed out of his hand as it touched the stone body, sending a scorching sensation right down to the core of the solid rock. The searing heat didn't have a great effect on the gargoyle but it did cause it to lose control, its body flailed around in the air trying desperately to knock Link off. Realising what it was trying to do, Link took his sword and stabbed it as hard as he could into the creature's small head, giving himself something to hang on to as it flung itself upside down.

Not knowing how she could help, Alanna stood wondering how they could get past this thing. Looking over to Taj, she saw a blast of purple fly from his blade; they appeared to be glowing throwing stars which had been charged by the magic of the sword. Slamming into the gargoyle, they slowed it down, giving Link enough time to think of something.

Noticing the empty eye sockets on the front of its head, Link got an idea he hoped would deal some serious damage. Taking out two bombs, he quickly placed them in the sockets and held them in until the final second. Just as they were about to explode, he pulled out his sword and leapt off the gargoyle, landing clumsily on the platform next to Saria. A mighty explosion followed, sending bits of rock flying in all directions; the bombs had blown the creature's head clean off, leaving its body to tumble helplessly into the void below.

"I'm glad that's over!" Amber announced. "I don't know what's wrong with this thing, it suddenly lost control. Sorry for almost frying you."

Holding up the Lens of Truth, Saria's face paled when she saw how much damage the flames had done; the lens was cracked in several places, making it impossible to use anymore.

"Sorry Link, I should've used Nayru's Love instead," she handed him the damaged item.

"it's alright, it wasn't anyone's fault," he smiled, taking the lens and putting it in a pocket. "And you saved my life, if anyone's allowed to break my stuff to save their own then it's you."

"So, does it mean we can cross now?" Alanna asked quietly, looking around for any more enemies in the room.

"Uh, yeah but we need some help," Link turned to Taj. Now that the deku seeds had gone, they needed his help to get across.

Deciding it would be easier to help them over one at a time, the Sheikah finally got everyone across, even Alanna who clung to him like vines to a wall the whole way over.

On the other side was a large platform with faint shapes engraved into the centre. Behind it was a tall wall which hid whatever sat on top from view. Stepping into the centre of the platform, Alanna looked around on the ground until she saw what she had been searching for.

"Here," she pointed to a circular shape in the floor. "The shield has to be placed here."

"Why?" Amber asked, not wanting to put her new toy down for a second.

"Because it looks like the shield should go in it!" Alanna stated the obvious. "It must be how we get up to the higher platform."

Placing the shield in the circular space, Amber was surprised to find it was a perfect fit.

"Now what?" The Gerudo stood back, waiting for something amazing to happen. "Do we do some sort of dance around it?"

"I… don't know," Alanna sighed, she was sure the shield was meant to be the key to getting the items.

"What's this for?" Saria pointed to another shape on the floor. "It looks like a sword can go in it."

"Huh?" Alanna walked over to where Saria was standing; the shape did indeed resemble a sword, but what kind of sword?

Kneeling on the dusty floor, Link ran hand over the sword-shaped hole then took out his own. Placing it over the shape, he was disappointed to see how small his sword was compared to that one.

"I guess mine won't work."

"Let me try mine," Taj offered. Setting his own blade in the space, Alanna gasped when she saw it fit perfectly.

As soon as both weapons were in place, the platform below them emitted a bright golden light, blinding each member of the group and within seconds, steps began forming in the wall which led up to the higher ledge.

"But I was never told of a sword being needed," Alanna shook her head. "Oh well, at least we can get up there now!"

Racing up the steps, she arrived at a small alter that looked as if no one had touched it for generations. Moving closer, her eyes widened when she was greeted with the sight she had been waiting to see for years. The items needed to begin the journey.

"A dusty old book and a wooden stick?" Amber commented, looking rather annoyed. "We came here for these?"

"This isn't any old book!" Alanna picked the large book up, its worn brown cover almost crumbling beneath her touch. "This is what we need to find the spirits."

"What's the stick for then?" Link asked. Getting a closer look, he realised the 'stick' was a long wooden staff.

"You'll see in time," the girl said mysteriously. Opening the first page, she let them see it was simply a sketch book; the pages were empty, not a single drawing could be seen. Taking out a set of coloured pencils, she set herself on the floor and began drawing the alter.

"It's just some fancy sketchbook she wanted," Amber shrugged. "I say we get out of here and forget whatever's going on."

"Give me a moment!" Alanna insisted.

"Wow, you're a great artist," Saria said, leaning over the girl's shoulder.

"Thanks," Alanna grinned, adding the final touches to the picture. Taking out a thin black pencil, she paused to take in what was about to happen then signed her name at the bottom of the picture.

"It's lovely but how's that going to help us?" Amber crossed her arms.

"Like this," Alanna slowly turned the page to reveal a picture of a dense swamp; an image of a large bear stood in the centre of the swamp, its deep brown eyes leering at them from the paper. "That's where we go next."


	8. Waltz of the Roses

Author's note: I'd just like to say a big thank you to those who have supported this story so far. Sequels are usually not as popular as the original stories so it's nice to get some positive feedback.

* * *

"Whoa! How did you do that?" Amber gasped, staring in awe over Alanna's shoulder at the newly formed picture in the book.

"Now do you believe me when I say who I am?" Alanna grinned up at the Gerudo who folded her arms.

"So you can magically make pretty pictures, still doesn't make you a summoner. I know I was all for being a chosen one but this seems too crazy to be real."

"Well I believe you and would be glad to help in anyway I can," Saria smiled, holding out her hand for Alanna.

"Thank you Saria," Alanna jumped up and took the girl's hand.

"Yeah, I'm in too," Link placed his on theirs. "Weirder stuff than this has happened to me before so I guess I can believe it."

"If it's our only way out of this mess then I'll help you," Taj nodded, putting his hand on Link's.

"Come on Amber, you were the one who was so excited about this!" Madi reminded the girl. "What's the problem? Are you all words and no action?"

"Huh? No way! My middle name is action!" Amber threw her hand into the mix. "But if we're going to be travelling like this I think someone should be elected our leader, you know, to keep order and things. I nominate myself!"

"Nomination rejected!" Link spoke before she could carry on. "You couldn't lead anyone out of a paper bag, let alone on a journey like this."

"Like you could do any better!" Amber snapped, clenching her fists in frustration.

"You know, he probably would. He does have the most experience with things like this," Saria pointed out. "And he's able to keep his head in intense situations, unlike some."

"Hey, that was an accident! I didn't mean to almost burn you alive!"

"Like my ocarina was an accident too?"

"Yeah well, maybe my whole life is one big accident but doesn't that mean I deserve a chance to prove myself?" The Gerudo pleaded, she knew the pity card would work.

"What do you think Taj?" Link turned to the Sheikah who had been trying to keep out of the conversation.

"I'm just here to do a job and would prefer we got on with it, rather than wasting time discussing such a trivial matter."

"You know, you are allowed to have an opinion now and again," Link mumbled.

"I would like to nominate myself, after all, I am an official guardian now so would do a great job." Koda put himself forward, ignoring the argument going on below.

"Yes, let's let the deformed puffball lead us!" Amber exclaimed sarcastically.

"I am not deformed! ….Am I?" Koda's eyes flicked back and forth, his little mind worrying over his appearance once again.

Before anyone could say anything else, they were interrupted by a fit of giggles coming from Alanna who hadn't been able to get a word in edgeways.

"What's so funny?" Link asked.

"You! All of you! The way you are with each other, you remind me of a group of friends arguing over the most unimportant things. I've never had friends like this before!"

"Uh, I wouldn't move so fast, we hardly know you," Amber reminded Alanna.

"And not all of us are exactly friends," Link frowned at Amber who shot him a sheepish smile.

"But still… it's nice," Alanna said as she walked towards the sword and shield. "Now can you remove these so we can get out of here?"

* * *

Walking out of the shrine, the group was greeted by a slightly surprised Lucas who hadn't expected them to make it out alive. Sliding off the large rock he had been sitting on, he strolled over to them, the usual confident smirk on his face.

"So you did make it out then? Beginner's luck I think."

"They're no beginners Lucas," Alanna spoke up. "Well ok, maybe Amber is but the rest of them showed real skill in there."

"Hey, who're you calling a beginner?" Amber huffed. "I've been training all my life for something like this!"

"The safety of the fortress is a lot different from the real world," Taj said, leaning against a nearby tree to escape the sun.

"Like you'd know anything about the fortress," The Gerudo mumbled.

Noticing Taj resting his long sword in the ground, Link remembered the comments Yarick had made about his own blade being so short and knew he was right. It may have worked in the fight in the market but the enemies out here were going to be far greater than some egoistic kid who had never left the safety of his cosy little home.

"What're you staring at?" Saria asked, slipping her arm around his.

"I think I'm going to need a better sword if we're going to do this, but where could I get one?"

"There's bound to be a town near here where you can buy weapons," Koda landed on Link's head, hoping the boy wouldn't swat him off.

"Yeah because when I get a new one, I'm going to show that giant octopus a thing or two," Link grit his teeth, still annoyed at himself for being beaten.

"No! You can't do that!" Alanna exclaimed, overhearing their conversation.

"Huh? Why not?" Link blinked.

"The one who attacked you is known as Akimaru, the Spirit of the Oceans. It is so determined to get the shield back for Asterlin that it will surely kill you all if it sees you again." Alanna replied, a serious expression on her face. "We must get the help of the calmer spirits before returning to defeat it, this is why the book is leading us to Magnus first."

"That's the bear?" Saria asked.

"Yes, Magnus is the Spirit of the Woodlands and its domain is within the swamps and forests of Asterlin." Alanna explained. "It still won't be easy to persuade it to help us but it's more likely to listen than Akimaru."

"And what if we come across another spirit who refuses to help us?" Taj asked the question everyone had been worrying about.

"Well… hopefully by then we'll have enough of the other spirits to help us defeat it," Alanna said, her unsure tone not doing much to convince them. "The book will lead us to the right spirits first."

"You sound so sure," Amber sighed. "Ok, so first we need a sword for Link before going to the swamps and forests or whatever. Where can we get one?"

"I was thinking we could stop at one of the main towns before starting properly anyway, we need to stock up on supplies," Alanna took out an old map of Asterlin her father had given her a while ago. "The nearest town to here is Hollum where I'm sure we can find plenty of things for the journey and we kind of need to go there anyway…"

"How come?" Amber asked curiously.

"If we're going to start such an important journey around Asterlin then the council will need to know."

"Oh, those are the people who kept sending Zelda letters, aren't they?" Link grinned at the memory of all the letters Zelda showed them.

"There are six of them in total, each governs a different area of the country."

"Six council members, six Sages, sound familiar?" Madi smiled.

"There are actually seven Sages," Link reminded the fairy. "So not quite."

"If you're going to be off soon then so am I," Lucas interrupted their conversation. "Was nice seeing you Alanna but I should get back to my own family now. Might see you again, if you come back alive."

Watching her cousin disappear into the forest, Alanna wondered if he had finally given up trying to stop her from going on this journey, or was he biding his time until she really did get herself stuck somewhere a lot more dangerous than the shrine they had just left?

* * *

"I'm so proud of you Alanna, I know you'll help bring peace to the country," her father said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The group were standing at the entrance to the village waiting for everyone to say goodbye to Alanna, which was taking longer than they'd thought.

"Ok, so when is this cheesy stuff going to end?" Amber finally asked, becoming increasingly bored of hanging around.

"Um, yeah, we can go now," Alanna walked over to them. Turning to take one last look at her father and the rest of the villagers, she flung her bag over her shoulder and made her way into the forest. "Come on then, what are you all waiting for?" Her voice echoed through the trees.

"Right, wait up!" Amber dashed into the trees after Alanna.

"Thank you for all your help," Saria thanked Alanna's father.

"You're quite welcome," He smiled. "Please, be sure to look after my daughter, she doesn't have much experience of the world."

"We'll do our best," Link assured the man, disappearing into the trees with the rest of the group.

A sharp gust of air greeted them as they found their way to the outskirts of the forest. Pushing the final cluster of branches out of the way, Alanna led them into the valleys of Asterlin. Link gasped when he got a better look at what was before him. A blanket of green covered everything in sight, reaching over the rolling hills that surrounded them on both sides and stretching down through the valley as far as the eye could see. Even after a life of living in a forest, the boy had never seen so much green at once.

"This is the Emerald Valley, I doubt I need to explain why," Alanna grinned. "The grass that grows here is the healthiest in all of Asterlin."

Looking across the valley and over the numerous hills and mountains, Saria caught sight of the peak of something that looked different from the rest of the scenery. She couldn't see much but it appeared as if the thing was made from a dusty-red kind of rock which was a twisted shape like the fancy bread they made in Hyrule Castle.

"Hey, what's that thing way over there?" She asked, pointing in the direction of the peak.

"Oh that's the Rubin Mountain range, we don't need to worry about going there for a while yet." Alanna told them. "The first place we need to go is Hollum City, shouldn't take us more than a few hours to walk."

"Let's get a move on then!" Amber marched forward, not waiting for the others to follow.

As they walked, Alanna took mental notes on each of them, trying to work out what each would bring to the group. Looking behind her, Taj was walking in silence which she noticed he seemed to do a lot. He was an experienced warrior, she knew that from how he had acted in the shrine but just how experienced was he? She wasn't sure. One thing was certain, his ability to see invisible objects would definitely come in useful in the future.

"I've never seen a flower like this in the forest back home," Saria commented, kneeling down to get a closer look.

One thing Alanna had started to notice about Saria was that she could be very inquisitive, always asking questions and wanting to know more about things most people wouldn't look at twice. There was no question that she was intelligent, being a Sage of a kingdom and all but one wouldn't think it at first glance. The summoner suspected that the whirlwind the girl had summoned in the shrine was just a small sample of her real power.

"Yeah, I bet there are a lot of new things we've never seen here," Link replied to Saria.

Then there was Link. He was clearly fearless, the way he landed on that monster's back and almost blew himself up in the process. The blade on his back did look a little small for someone of his build but she had a feeling he could make do with it until they managed to get him a new one. She wondered if he had hoards of girls who followed him around back in Hyrule, not that it would have had much of an effect, she could see he and Saria had a bond she hadn't come across for a long time; not since her parents and even that hadn't worked out quite as she had imagined. Her mother and father were still together, although it didn't seem like it most of the time as her mother was away a lot on her various expeditions all over the country.

Running on ahead, Amber was having a great time stretching her legs properly, instead of sitting inside a wagon or boat, or screaming for her life in some shrine. Not looking where she was going, she tripped head-first over a large green rock which was almost invisible due to blending in with the plant life around it.

Alanna didn't need to think too much about Amber, it was plain to anyone that she was insensitive and reckless, the complete opposite of Saria which she was sure would lead to some interesting situations. However, despite her noticeable flaws, the Gerudo meant well and was the only one who could handle that huge shield. Why the weapon had chosen her was still a mystery to them all.

Leaping to her feet, Amber spun around and went to kick the rock, only to get a surprise when it rose out of the ground, a pair of angry black eyes appearing on one side of its head.

"Uh, what is this thing?" The Gerudo stepped back a few feet.

"That's an Emerock, I wouldn't anger it if I were you," Alanna caught up to her. "They're the protectors of the Emerald Valley."

"But it's just a rock, what could it do to anyone?" Amber found her courage once more and walked up to the rock, placing a hand on the top of it.

Instantly, the rock grew a set of stone-like arms and legs and with one swift movement sent the girl flying back the way she had been walking.

"Ouch, ok, I see what you mean."

Giving a short growl, the Emerock retreated back into the grass where it would remain until the next threat awoke it.

Carrying on down the path, they passed many Emerocks amongst the grass, each a different size and shade of green which intrigued even the silent Taj who couldn't help stare in wonder at the creatures.

"Psst, you forgot to analyse us fairies," Koda whispered, landing on Alanna's hat.

"Huh, what do you mean?" The girl questioned the fairy.

"I've been watching the way you're looking at them, you're obviously thinking about each in turn. So, what's your opinion on me? I'm a stud right?"

"Um, I can barely make out your features since you're so small," Alanna grinned. "Why exactly are you here anyway?"

"I'm a guardian fairy so I figured Link and Saria would need my advice and guidance in this new land. She," he looked towards Madi, "is just a nuisance who insisted on coming too."

"You're forgetting you're not my or Saria's guardian Koda," Link reminded the purple fairy before Madi could start yelling at him.

"Heh, true but you know my knowledge will come in handy at some point."

"So you two have guardian fairies?" Alanna was curious. "Where are they if these two aren't them?"

"Mine disappeared a while back…" Link frowned, not wanting to talk any more about Navi.

"Mine didn't want to come, it's a long story really," Saria gave a weak smile.

"Oh right," Alanna didn't want to pry any more.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Taj's voice echoed from up ahead.

Looking in the direction he was pointing, the others got a shock when they noticed a group of Emerocks rampaging down a path which appeared to lead into another deep forest.

"I've never seen them move like that before," Alanna adjusted her glasses. Then something hit her. "Oh no, they're headed for the swamp!"

"Isn't that where we want to go anyway?" Amber asked.

"Yes but not until-" Alanna was cut off when the group of Emerocks were blown backwards from the swamp, tumbling over the grassy plains. Leaping up once more, the group raced back towards the swamp and this time, they didn't return.

"I think we need to stop here first," Link ran in the direction of the swamp, eager to find what had just blown those creatures back with such ease.

"For once I agree!" Amber charged after him.

"This wasn't the plan!" Alanna was becoming frustrated, if they didn't stick to her plan then how would they be able to achieve anything?

"A lot of the time things don't always go to plan," Saria shrugged and followed Link and Amber over to the entrance to the swamp.

"Listen, we have to go into town first!" Alanna stomped over to them.

"But what if whatever is in here causes more trouble while we're there?" Link reasoned. "We'll just go in, deal with whatever it is then go into town and then come back here if it bothers you that much."

"Can't argue with that," Taj nodded. "If we leave whatever it is down there alone for too long it may only get worse Miss Alanna."

"Ok, I see your point," Alanna sighed. "Come on then." Pushing her way to the front, she took one step into the trees and let out a loud scream before disappearing in a flash of white light.

"That was… different," Madi blinked. "Do you think this is a good idea after all?"

"We have to help her!" Saria couldn't believe what had just happened.

Not waiting any longer, Link pushed his way through into the void followed by the rest who were greeted with the same white flash that had taken Alanna only seconds ago.

* * *

All she could see was blue, it was like someone had taken a sheet of paper of that colour and was holding it over her eyes. Realising she could actually move her limbs, Alanna slowly pushed herself into a sitting position to get a better look at where she was. She appeared to be sitting in a vast meadow, but there was something different about this one than a normal meadow, something she had never seen before. The entire field was covered in tall red roses as far as she could see. But that wasn't the strange part; the strange part was the fact that she was sure she could hear the roses whispering. Peering into the distance, she could see a small cottage nestled between the rose beds, maybe someone who could help her get out of this place lived there.

Before she had a chance to stand, there was a series of thuds behind her as the rest of the group tumbled into the mysterious meadow.

"Remind me not to do that again," Amber mumbled, rubbing the back of her head. "Hey, there she is!"

"What is this place?" The only time Saria had ever seen a rose was at Hyrule Castle and there were nowhere near this many.

"Whatever it is, you look really out of place here," Amber grinned at Taj who rolled his eyes.

"This is no time for jokes," he glanced in the direction of the cottage. "Do you think someone lives there?"

"Only one way to find out," Link started making his way towards the building, preparing himself for any enemies that may be waiting within.

Walking up to the stained red door, he admired the elegant carvings of various flowers and tress engraved on it before giving it a sharp knock. There was no answer.

"I guess no one's home," Madi concluded, hiding behind his head in case anything decided to spring out of the door.

Suddenly, a rose-shaped door knocker appeared over the carvings, beckoning to be used.

"Someone must want us to go in," Saria didn't like the look of this but knew they had no other way to get back to the valley.

Looking intently at the rose shape of the door knocker, the carvings on the door, the red stains, the hundreds of roses everywhere, Alanna had the feeling she had either seen this place before or had definitely been told about it by someone.

Grabbing the handle, Link gave the door a light push and it opened with a long creak.

Inside it was quite dark, the only light source coming from a tiny window in the back of the room. A table was set out to one side, a vase full of different coloured roses was set in the centre along with a bowl of fruit, each a unique shade of red unlike any fruit any of them had seen before. For such a dismal-looking room, the only thing they could smell was the fresh scent of the roses coming in from the meadow, as well as the strange fruit on the table. Opposite the table in the corner of the room sat an old woman fast asleep in a small armchair, her skin was so pale it gave the impression she was dead but her steady breathing proved otherwise.

As soon as she saw the old woman Alanna's mind kept telling her this was a very bad idea.

"I-I think we should leave," she said barely in a whisper.

"Why?" Amber leaned on the table. "I say we wake that old woman up and ask her where we are." Taking a look at the fruit, she selected one she thought looked most edible and took a big bite.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alanna hissed, trying to grab the fruit from the Gerudo.

"I'm hungry!" Amber exclaimed, trying to keep the fruit out of the other girl's reach.

"We have to get out of here, now!" Alanna shoved her way to the door and tried to pull it open but it was no good, they were trapped.

About to take another bite of the fruit, Amber seemed un-phased that they were locked inside. Placing what could only be described as a red banana to her lips, she got a shock when the old woman warped out of the chair, wrapping her arms around her neck. Dropping the fruit in panic, Amber and the woman vanished into thin air.

"The shield belongs to me now!" Laughter echoed from outside the house.

"We're doomed!" Alanna shouted, banging her fists on the door.

"Move aside, let me do it," Link insisted. Bracing himself, he ran at the door, pushing his entire weight against it. Not even a crack.

Thinking two would be better than one, Taj joined the other boy in the hopes their combined effort would break the thing open.

"What the heck is this door made from?" Link grit his teeth in frustration.

Taking a small green stone out of her pocket, Saria held it in her hand for a second before deciding they had no other option. She just hoped she could teleport four people plus two fairies out of the building.

A loud ticking interrupted the group as they tried to think of an escape route.

"Where's that noise coming from?" Taj looked all around but couldn't see anything that could be causing it.

The roses on the table starting flashing different colours in time with the ticking.

"I didn't want to die like this," Alanna whimpered.

"Everyone grab onto me and hold tight!" Saria shouted over Alanna's panicking and the ticking sound.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Link saw what she had in her hand as he linked arms with her.

"It's our only chance," she nodded.

"What's going on?" Alanna asked, taking hold of Saria's other arm while Taj held onto her shoulders and the fairies hid in her pocket.

"You'll see." Saria held up the green orb which split open the more she focused her energy into it. Instantly, the group were shrouded in a bright green light before they were warped out of the room in one swift movement.

The ticking stopped and the flashing of the roses became so fast-paced that they became a blur of red and orange.

The house burst into a flurry of rose petals.

There was another flash of green at the far side of the meadow as the group reappeared.

"W-what just happened?" Alanna couldn't believe how she was in the house one minute than out here the next.

"Is that all that happened?" Link blinked at what seemed to be a lot of harmless rose petals where the house had once been.

"I'd look closer if I were you," a voice cackled over the meadow. "Everything in that house turned to petals, including anything that happened to be alive."

The petals suddenly rushed into the air, spiralling upwards they twisted into a cyclone which stretched until they could barely see the top due its sheer size. Coming to a stop, they started fading away to reveal a figure dressed in a long red dress that gave off the impression it had been created from the rose petals themselves. Holding an unconscious Amber between her slender arms she gently glided to the ground and let the Gerudo fall to the floor, her mouth foaming with a thick red liquid which had caused her to fall asleep after eating the fruit. Reaching down towards the shield, she hissed in pain when the weapon scorched her fingers.

"Looks like she can't touch it either," Link watched the woman turn to look in their direction, her narrow eyes zoning in on them.

"Will I have to get rid of you all before it allows me to touch it?" Taking a single rose from within her grey hair, the woman pointed it in the direction if Amber. "I'll start with the easiest target."

Taking out his bow, Link shot a burning arrow across the meadow, ripping the rose in two before it had a chance to get near Amber. Unsheathing his sword, he dashed forward only to be blown back by a strong gust of wind. Ignoring the sleeping girl, the woman rose into the air as if to accept his challenge; the whispering of the roses becoming louder when they sensed their mistress would soon be needing their help.

"Guess I'll be needing this," Taj withdrew his own sword to join Link just as a wave of roses swarmed towards them.

Alanna stood frozen to the spot as she watched the boys slash through the never-ending onslaught of prickly plant life. Turning to her left, she noticed Saria had disappeared but couldn't see her anywhere amongst the fray of flying petals.

"You know, unless you intend to kill her there's no clear way you can win this battle," Koda pointed out to Link who was shielding his face from an onslaught of thorns tearing across his skin.

"What do you mean?" Link asked the fairy. Then it hit him. This woman wasn't some kind of monster that he could stab a sword through or blow up, she was a living breathing person who was no different from any of them; apart from the fact she was trying to kill them all of course.

"I mean-"

"I get what you mean now," Link interrupted Koda. "I just wish this was easier." Looking over at Alanna, he winced when another wave of roses rushed in her direction. About to move to help her, he stopped when Taj appeared in front of her as if out of nowhere, his sword cutting through the thorns without too much trouble.

"Thanks," Alanna gave him a weak smile. "I'm pretty useless, aren't I?"

"Just a bit," Taj agreed. "But you'll get used to this and at least you aren't unconscious," he looked at Amber who was still knocked out next to the shield.

"I may as well be." Looking across the meadow, Alanna noticed Saria appear a few feet behind Link, but how did she get all the way over there without anyone seeing her? Her eyes remained transfixed on the pair as Link tore through the flowers while Saria seemed to be watching the woman who hadn't moved from her position above them, letting the roses do the fighting for her. Just as Link finished fending off another swarm of roses, Alanna gasped when a stream of forest magic tore across the ground, right in his direction. She was surprised to see he back flipped out of the way of the magic, as if he had known beforehand what was going to happen. Following the path of the attack, she watched it twist into the air, heading right for the woman who didn't manage get out of the way. However, even after being struck by such powerful magic, it looked like it hadn't phased her at all.

"Not bad," the woman glared at Saria. "But you're forgetting one thing, the magic of the forest is my specialty, meaning it's useless against me." With a wave of her hand, a cluster of thick roots shot out of the ground, wrapping themselves around the startled Forest Sage who was suddenly flung into the air as the roots shot upwards.

Narrowly avoiding another pair of roots, Link swiftly took out Din's Fire. Slamming his hand into the base of the roots, flames crawled along them as Saria summoned Nayru's Love to shield herself from the heat. In seconds, the plant life crumbled beneath the searing temperature, leaving a pile of ash behind.

"You'll soon become tired," the woman smiled, another pair of roots shooting up from the ground.

Predicting the movement of the plants this time, both managed to leap out of the way. Dashing into the midst of the roots, Link held up his sword just as Saria sent a stream of magic in his direction once again. This time the blade absorbed the energy, giving his spin attack an extra boost as he slashed the roots in half, being careful not to be choked by one from behind.

"How do they do that?" Alanna asked Taj, still keeping her eyes on the pair.

"Do what?" The Sheikah didn't know what she was talking about.

"That!" She exclaimed when a different set of roots shot out of the ground right below Link's feet. Just like before when he had known what was going to happen, he leapt onto the roots as they rose higher into the air, moving towards the next one when it too sprung out of the ground. "It's like… well, it's like they can read each other's minds!"

"I wouldn't know," Taj smirked. He knew full well what they were doing but was enjoying the confused look on Alanna's face too much to tell her. Besides, it wasn't his place to let her in on other people's secrets.

Link and Saria had decided that they needed to bring the woman down to their level and the only way to do that was to get close enough without her unleashing another wave of roses or cluster of roots on them. Balancing on a new root Saria had created, Link jumped towards the next, each getting higher and higher as they arched around the meadow, giving him a stable surface to stand on.

Taking out another rose, the woman held it by the flower itself while the stem began to grow longer. Raising her hand back, she waited until Link was inches away from her then flung it forward, sending a long whip out from the stem. However, Link was too quick and managed to dodge the whip by stepping to one side, almost falling off the roots. Removing a second rose from her hair, the woman used both at once in different directions, stopping Link from dodging. Latching onto one of his wrists, the plant wrapped itself tightly around and within seconds, she used the second rose to grip his other arm. Pulling the roses backwards, she smiled when they dragged a helpless Link into the air, flinging him over her head with such force that his whole body slammed down onto the ground behind her.

"Ouch, that had to hurt," Madi winced, watching Link being tossed through the air once more.

About to use her own Din's Fire on the whips, Saria was stopped in her tracks when a series of roots tore out of the ground, wrapping themselves around her wrists and ankles, dragging her to the floor.

Seeing that he was needed, Taj turned to face Alanna.

"Here, if the roses attack again, use this to protect yourself," he handed her his sword.

"Uh," Alanna took the sword in both hands, not having a clue how she would use it if she had to.

Easily avoiding any roots the woman summoned to capture him, Taj took out a couple of throwing stars and began to distract her enough so her entire focus wasn't on Link anymore.

Crashing to the floor for what must have been the fifth time, Link took advantage of the woman being distracted and flipped onto his feet. Frantically trying to think of a way to get rid of the stem-whips, he spotted the shield lying next to Amber not far from the woman and got an idea. Not wasting anymore time, he dashed over to the weapon, almost tripping over it as he threw his wrists onto the surface, instantly feeling a scorching pain itching away at his skin. Enduring the heat, he was rewarded when the stems began to burn apart, leaving his hands free, although free to do what he didn't quite know yet. Looking into the centre of the shield, he blinked when a ray of sun caught the edge of the silver.

"Of course," he said to himself. Gripping one of the corners, he ignored the burning sensation and leaned the weapon against the still sleeping Amber, so it was at an angle facing in the woman's direction. It was obvious that if he tried to attack her when she was looking she would simply counter it, but what if she was led to believe he had missed?

Joining Taj, he took out his bow and started shooting arrows directly at her which weren't hard to avoid. When he was satisfied that she was starting to predict his movement, he focused some magic into the next arrow, creating a flash of blue as an ice arrow was formed. Aiming at the woman for a brief second, he switched the direction of the bow just as the arrow was shot.

"Are you tiring?" The woman smirked, watching the arrow fly beneath her. Not thinking to look behind, she got a nasty shock when the arrow ricocheted off the shield, switching direction and heading right for her. A deafening shriek was the last thing they heard as the ice encased her body, falling to the ground in one quick motion.


	9. Magnus, Spirit of the Woodlands

There was a moment of silence before the peaceful meadow started to blur around them, twisting into a different scene of what appeared to be the midst of the Asterlin swamps. The cube of ice surrounding the woman blurred out of sight, along with her inside. Lowering his bow, Link winced as he put a hand over his chest, being slammed into the ground multiple times had taken its toll on his body.

"Are you ok?" Saria came over to him after untangling herself from the roots.

"Of course, I've been through worse," Link gave her a weak smile.

She knew he was trying to put on an act but didn't want to argue.

"I think we should take a rest for a few minutes," she told the others who all willingly agreed.

"Ugh, where am I?" Amber mumbled from her place on the ground. Sitting up, she rubbed her head then looked at the group. "Where did that crazy woman go? And where's the meadow?"

"We defeated her," Taj explained. "And now we've somehow been warped somewhere else."

"It was just an illusion," Alanna spoke up. "She, that woman, created it to make us believe we were far away, when in reality we were here all along."

"Hang on, are you saying I missed all the action?" Amber shouted, ignoring Alanna. "Well that sucks!"

"Hey, your shield was quite useful," Link grinned, sitting on a mossy rock. Turning to Alanna, he shot her a curious look. "How do you know that was an illusion?"

"Because she's one of them."

All eyes were suddenly on the summoner.

"One of who?" Amber asked, forgetting her annoyance at missing the last battle.

"I suppose you would have found out sooner or later," Alanna sighed. "There are a group of people in Asterlin who believe that what's happening right now with the spirits is meant to happen. They want chaos to fall over the land so the spirits will eventually destroy each other and Asterlin will finally be free of them."

"But won't they destroy Asterlin in the process?" Saria asked.

"That's what they don't realise. They think once the spirits have gone Asterlin can reform into a new nation, free of constraint, but that won't happen unless everyone and everything is destroyed first."

"This gets crazier and crazier," Amber got to her feet, dusting a cluster of rose petals from her trousers. "I didn't sign up for bad guys to be involved too."

"You don't get a choice in these things," Link snorted, stretching his arms before standing. "I think we should go find that bear."

"Right," Taj nodded his agreement.

"Wait! You're forgetting that we need to go into town first," Alanna reminded them.

"Listen, I know we said we'd go there after dealing with whatever was in here but now we're here wouldn't it be quicker to find the spirit first?" Link suggested. "I'm sure the council will understand the situation, especially if this group you talk about is set on stopping us."

"Um, I guess so," Alanna frowned. She hated changing plans at the last minute but he did make a good point. It would be a waste of time trekking all the way to the city then all the way back to where they were. "But didn't you want a better sword?"

"I think I can manage for now, and I have plenty of other weapons," Link grinned.

"Where did you get so many weapons anyway?" Amber asked the boy. She realised they hadn't really spoken much about what he, Saria or even Taj did before they started this journey.

"Yeah, I'd be interested to know too," Alanna nodded, moving beside Link as they began walking deeper into the swamp.

Following behind Link and the two curious girls, Taj and Saria listened to him explaining what each of the weapons did as he took them out. Saria had heard the explanations countless times, it was amazing the number of people who were fascinated with simple things such as the bow and boomerang. Of course, the more unusual weapons like the gust jar still made even her wonder how it managed to work they way it did.

"I'm tired!" Madi sighed, sitting on Saria's shoulder. "All this flying is exhausting."

"Flying? You've spent most of the time sat on someone's head or shoulders," Saria reminded the fairy.

"Yeah, well…" The golden fairy tried to think of another excuse. "Hey, did you notice that this place keeps getting darker the further we walk?" She managed to change the subject.

"You're right," Taj stared up into the masses of trees which twisted and turned in all directions, creating the thick canopy of plant life covering the swamps.

* * *

The deeper they ventured into the swamps, the murkier the water around them became. Soon the thick trees were twisting so far down that they almost blocked any signs of the path from being seen. Not many animals appeared to be moving amongst the leaves, only the odd skulltula that would scurry away when they heard footsteps nearing. The only sound was the rustling of the trees as a light wind wrapped around their branches, causing them to sway gently.

"This is disgusting!" Amber moaned as they trudged through a pool of fresh mud, her feet treading on various stones and twigs which had been caught in the sludge.

"We're getting closer to the deepest parts of the swamp," Alanna explained. Leading the way, she led them through a series of shallow pools and clusters of trees. "The shrine shouldn't be too far from here."

"Another shrine?" Link raised an eyebrow. This would be the second one they had been to that day.

"Well, shrine is a loose term for it. You could call it a lair or temple if you wanted," Alanna shrugged.

"Are there going to be more things that try to kill us in this next shrine?" Amber asked, almost stumbling over a jagged rock hidden within the mud.

"Probably…" Alanna replied, paying more attention to the map she had taken out than to the Gerudo. "Over there!" She pointed to a group of trees which were off to one side of the path.

Walking in the direction Alanna was pointing, Link approached the trees to find he could pull them apart to reveal an entrance that spiralled downwards further into the swamp. However, the only way down seemed to be a wide mudslide which had formed during the bad weather.

"Um, how do we get down there?" Alanna looked at the map, there wasn't anything about mudslides written on it.

"Down where!" Amber shouted from behind them. Jumping over another large rock, she misjudged the distance and went tumbling into Alanna who shrieked in surprise as both of them fell face-first into the mud.

"I suppose we have no choice but to get very muddy," Taj mumbled. He didn't particularly want to slide down in the mud but there didn't appear to be another way.

"Not necessarily," Saria grinned. Moving past the girls on the ground, she plucked five leaves from the nearest tree and held them up to inspect them.

"Yeah, those will be a real help," Amber said from the mud. "You've finally lost it Saria."

Ignoring Amber's comment, the Kokiri held the leaves for a second before each grew to the size of a large deku leaf.

"There's only one way to get down a mudslide," she smiled, handing each of them a leaf. Placing her leaf on the edge of the slope, she took a breath before stepping onto it and giving it a quick push.

"Whoa!" Amber gasped as the green-haired girl disappeared down the mudslide, surfing on the giant leaf. "I guess I'll join her!" Placing her own leaf down in the same way she'd seen Saria do, she jumped onto it, only to almost fall off before she had even started.

"This will be funny," Koda laughed.

Deciding it was best to avoid standing for now, Amber clutched the leaf to her chest before running at the mud, throwing the leaf out in front of herself and sliding head-first down the slide. As soon as the leaf hit the mud, she felt a whooshing sensation shoot through her body as a rush of adrenaline took over. Holding on for her life, she had never felt so alive, even during the extensive horse-riding lessons her mother had put her through. Catching up to Saria, the Gerudo was still impressed that the girl was able to stand on the leaf without losing her balance, it was as if she'd been doing this all her life, as if she was one with the forest.

"Wait for me!" Link called to them as he too caught up with the two girls.

Amber stared in fascination at him too. He wasn't as 'one' with the leaf as Saria was but the boy still managed to stand up without falling face-first into the mud.

"Um, I don't think I can do that," Alanna stood nervously at the top of the mudslide. She knew she didn't have to stand on the leaf but even lying on it like Amber was doing would more than likely end up with her flying into the mud.

"Here, I'll help you," Taj placed his leaf on the ground and took a seat on it. "Come on, sit on yours, it's not as hard as it looks."

Hesitating for a moment, Alanna took a deep breath and knew he was right. It couldn't be that hard, especially if Amber could manage it. Stepping cautiously onto the leaf, she slowly lowered herself into a sitting position before grabbing hold of Taj's hand to steady herself. Giving the ground a push with her other hand, she closed her eyes as their leaves started sliding down the mud. This was going to be a long ride.

"Fancy a race to the finish?" Saria challenged Link who eagerly took up the invitation.

"You know I'll beat you," He grinned, making his leaf move faster down the slide.

"We'll see about that!" Saria took off after him, swerving around the next corner, leaving Amber lagging behind.

"Hey! I want to be in on this too!" Amber sulked. Attempting to stand once more, she was able to kneel before wobbling back into a lying down position. "I'm not going to give up!" Grabbing the first long stick she saw in the trees, she smiled to herself as her plan came into action.

"You're losing your touch," Link laughed as he kept up his lead on Saria who wasn't far behind.

Narrowing the distance between herself and Link, Saria looked up to see a string of branches hanging down on both sides of the mudslide. Waving a hand before he noticed, she sent one of them tumbling down right in front of him.

"Whoa!" Link struggled to keep his balance as he twisted his leaf through the mud to dodge the fallen branch. "Two can play that game!" Taking out his boomerang, he aimed at some of the branches over Saria's head, only to see both her and the leaf disappear. It was common for the Kokiris to vanish from sight whenever they wanted back in the forest, some would use this to protect themselves from threats while others liked to mess about and play tricks on each other. Even though he'd known Saria all of his life, Link still wasn't able to see her when she did that, no matter how hard he tried. The Deku Tree said he might be able to one day but only he would be able to work out how. Lowering his boomerang, he sighed, there was no point trying to knock down branches when he didn't know where she was.

"Look out in front!" Amber's voice shrieked. Digging her stick into the thick mud, she pulled herself up into a standing position before giving the leaf a mighty push. Using the stick like an oar, she pushed herself at full speed down the mudslide.

Realising Amber was headed right for him, Link sighed with relief when Saria reappeared. Leaping onto the back of her leaf, he slid his arms around her waist as a speeding Gerudo shot past the both of them, mud and leaves splashing in all directions. Reaching the end of the mud at breakneck speed, Amber braced herself for the hit as her leaf shot into a moss-covered brick wall with such force it was surprising the wall was still standing.

"Ow," the girl rubbed her aching head, "Well, at least I won!"

"Can you still see straight?" Koda flew over to where she had crashed. "I've never seen someone slide so fast on a leaf before!"

"You could have seriously hurt yourself," Saria said, arriving at the bottom with Link.

"Yes mother," Amber staggered to her feet. "Didn't know you cared."

"Saria cares about everyone, even those who don't always deserve it," Madi joined the conversation.

"Saria can also speak for herself," Saria half smiled . Turning around she still couldn't see Taj and Alanna.

"Shame I didn't fall backwards, this thing would've cushioned the fall," Amber took the shield from her back, the front covered in a thin layer of mud.

A few minutes later, Taj and Alanna finally appeared at the top of the final turning of the mudslide. Alanna had almost broken the poor boy's hand with how hard she had been holding on the entire way down. Grateful to have reached the shrine, Taj helped her off the leaf, stretching out his hand to make sure nothing was broken.

"Sorry about that," Alanna said quietly. Turning to face the others, she nodded when she saw the almost crumbling wall behind them. "At least we made it."

Leading them around the wall, they eventually arrived at what must have been the entrance. A giant stone arch covered with thick vines and various shades of brown and green moss reminded Link of the various other woodland temples he had come across during his travels. Peering into the darkness of the entrance, he heard the hollow sounds of the underground barely audible over the rustling of the plant life surrounding them.

Carefully making their way down the cracked stone steps, the group had to allow their eyes to adjust to the pitch darkness which seemed to swallow them the further they ventured inside. The air become damp and ice-cold the moment the last speck of light had disappeared behind them, causing some of them to question whether it really was a good idea to be doing this.

"Maybe we should leave," Alanna said, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

"I didn't realise it would be this cold!" Amber shivered. The Gerudos hardly ever experienced anything colder than a mild day so this was a totally new experience for the girl.

"if this is where the spirit is then we have no choice," Link reminded them. "Here, each take one of these." He reached into his pocket and brought out some deku sticks.

"Oh yeah, like this is going to help protect me," Amber rolled her eyes.

"It's not for protection," Link sighed. Taking out a burning orb of light from another pocket, he motioned for each of them to light their sticks.

"Nice idea," Taj technically didn't need the extra light but it wouldn't hurt.

"I hope I don't drop this," Alanna whispered, letting herself take up the rear of the group as they moved onwards.

* * *

"Uh, how are we going to cross this?" Amber gulped as she looked down into what must have been at least six foot of murky water. The pool stretched across the room before meeting with another platform and a door on the other side. The water appeared to be silent until a series of bubbles surfaced in several different places, revealing multiple sets of gleaming red eyes, each surveying the group in a hungry manner.

Examining the layout of the room, Link tried to spot anything that could be used in someway to help them get across, either by being used as a hookshot target or some kind of bridge. However, there wasn't much available to them. Glancing at the ceiling he noticed some vines growing upwards, probably towards a source of light outside. But they were too far away for anyone to reach.

Looking in the same direction as Link, Saria also noticed the vines which gave her an idea. Raising a hand towards them, she focused on the plants, pulling her hand back towards herself. As she did this, the vines also began to unravel themselves from the rocks of the ceiling, twisting down until they were long enough to be used to swing across the water.

"Are they safe?" Alanna asked, anxious about ending up in the water with whatever was lurking down there.

"We'll soon find out," Link took hold of the nearest vine. Standing near the edge of the water, he gripped it tightly between both hands before letting himself swing towards the next. Reaching out a hand, he got a surprise when one of the pairs of eyes leapt from the water, revealing a skeletal body in the shape of a small fish. Puling himself a little further up the vine, he managed to dodge the attack and move quickly across the vines.

"Sometimes, it's good to be short," Saria swung across the vines without having to worry about her legs being grabbed, being a few inches shorter than Link.

Following quickly after, Amber flung herself from vine to vine, kicking the enemies back each time they attempted to drag her into the water.

"Would you like to go first?" Taj turned to Alanna who was trembling behind him. He would have offered for her to go across on his back but was afraid both of them would fall in if they tried that way.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with anything that tries biting," Link took out his bow.

Taking a breath, Alanna edged her way towards the vines, her shaking hands reaching out for the first one. Glancing down, she saw a series of gleaming eyes, eagerly waiting for her to make a mistake and join them in their murky home. Shaking the thoughts out of her mind, she focused on the other side of the pool where she was sure she would be in less than a few minutes. Launching herself from the ground into the air, she tried not to scream as the creatures below started snapping and jumping for her legs. With a few quick actions, Link managed to distract them with some arrows long enough for the girl to grab onto the next vine and the next until she was safely across.

"See, wasn't so hard was it?" Amber slapped Alanna on the shoulder, almost causing her to fall over.

Following shortly after Alanna, Taj joined them on the other side.

Continuing deeper into the shrine, they made their way along what seemed like a long, narrow cave. Shining newly made torches on the walls revealed withered carvings of pictures which must have been created centuries ago in honour of the spirit who watched over the forests. Various images of a bear appeared more than once as they trekked further into the darkness, each more detailed than the last. One that particularly stood out was of a tall bear standing on its hind legs, its paws raised and teeth bared in anger as it was surrounded by a group of people who looked as if they were either trying to calm the beast down or attack it. Moving past the pictures, they eventually arrived at a tunnel which forked into two directions.

"So, which way are we meant to go?" Amber turned expectantly to Alanna.

"Um," Alanna hadn't been expecting to have two different paths to choose from.

Before they had a chance to discuss the situation, a deep flapping sound echoed along the path they had just walked along. A large brown figure hovered around the corner, its huge wings scraping against the top of the cave as it made its way towards the light of the torches. A small, oddly shaped head with two dark eyes zoned in on the group as the thing moved slowly closer, atick-thin legs helping it crawl along the ground where it was impossible to fly. As soon as the light landed on the creature, there was a series of screams from the girls.

"What is that!" Saria exclaimed.

"Nothing I've ever seen," Link said, watching the creature flapping towards them. Stopping to take in the appearance of its victims, the gigantic enemy sent a river of thick, purple liquid in their direction from the thin line on its tiny head which must have been its mouth.

"Run!" Amber screeched, grabbing Alanna's arm and dragging her down one passage while the other three shot down the opposite tunnel.

"You three need to run faster!" Madi yelled over their footsteps as she and Koda flew ahead.

"Easy to say when you can fly," Taj replied, catching up to the fairies with relative ease. "And aren't you two supposed to know what that thing is?"

"Uh…" Koda gulped. He had never come across whatever that thing was during his training.

Arriving at a dead end, they were greeted with a large, circular stone wall which had various patterns of different kinds of plant life engraved upon it. Finding there was no way to get past, there was only one thing to do. Taking out his bow, Link shot a series of flaming arrows towards the creature, slowing it down enough to give them some more time. Using the extra time wisely, Saria sent her fist into the ground, a stream of emerald flames tearing through the dirt and surrounding the thing in another burst of searing heat.

Bracing itself through the attacks, the creature lunged forward, spraying another wave of purple liquid which would surely hit them this time. However, before Link or Saria had a chance to cast Nayru's Love, Taj leapt in front, spinning his sword vertically in the air where it created a silver, oval-shaped transparent barrier which reflected the liquid, sending it splashing back towards the stunned creature. Screeching through the sting of its own poison, the enemy flailed its body from side-to-side as it tried to recover.

* * *

"I think we lost it," Alanna took a breath, keeping her eyes on the path behind in case the creature decided to suddenly appear.

"I think we lost everyone," Amber frowned, she had assumed they would all follow her, not go off in different directions. "We'll have to go back and help!"

"No, wait," The summoner turned to peer along the tunnel. "There might be something that can help further along."

Thinking it over for a moment, Amber didn't get much of a choice when Alanna started walking away without her, Realising the others could take care of themselves for now, she hurried after the fizzy-haired girl; after all, there was no one else around to protect her if there were any more surprises lurking deeper in the shrine.

Coming to the end of the tunnel, the girls arrived at a room which was inhabited by two huge stone guillotines. The one in front was swinging back and forth quite quickly, making it very difficult for any trespassers to manoeuvre past. However, the one behind may have been larger but it seemed to be moving at a slower pace, as if the creators intended it for it to be used for something.

Lighting the torches near the door, Alanna got a shock when she saw more pictures carved in similar ways to the ones they had seen only moments ago. However, these represented the creature that attacked them chasing a group of people which looked like the ones in the earlier drawings. Turning to point it out to Amber, she gasped when she saw the Gerudo attempting to run past the first guillotine.

"Are you crazy? That thing's going too fast!" She moved to where Amber was standing.

"You're right. Here, take this," Amber gave Alanna her torch. "I may have dropped it but now have a better chance!"

Alanna sighed. Peering into the distance of the room, her eyes adjusted to the dim light where she could make out something square-shaped high up on the furthest wall. Clearly, whoever designed the room had wanted to stop visitors from getting near it.

Taking the shield from her back, Amber held it out in front of herself so the sun on the front was facing upwards. Watching the movements of the guillotine, she timed it just right before shoving the shield between it and the wall. There was a loud clanging sound but to both girls' surprise the shield managed to bring the thing to a sharp halt, giving Amber the chance she needed to leap over into the centre of the room. Moving towards the second guillotine, the girl was about to attempt to run beneath it when she had the switch brought to her attention by Alanna. It was too high for her to reach by herself but if she was able to stand on something…

"I wonder," she rested a hand on the slow-moving guillotine. It had a wide surface on top which would be easy enough to stand on long enough to press a switch. Walking a few steps backwards, she braced herself before taking a running jump, landing half way over the still moving guillotine. Clutching onto the cold stone, she pulled the rest of her body into a kneeling position where she was able to wrap her arms around the central piece connecting to the ceiling. Pulling herself up to stand, Amber knew if she let go of the centre she was sure to tumble off; she hated to admit it but her balance wasn't as good as it could have been. Steadying herself as best she could, she reached out a hand towards the wall as the guillotine swung her in the direction of the switch. Her fingers were inches away when she realised the only way to press it would be to jump. So jump she did.

Alanna winced as the Gerudo flung herself towards the switch, slammed her hand into it and fell to the ground. As soon as the switch was activated, a series of tiles below began shuffling on the wall to reveal a large carving of the creature yet again. However, this time it displayed the same people wrapping what appeared to be long ropes or chains around the enemy's neck. Then it hit her, that was how they had to defeat it!

Before the girls had a chance to leave, a series of skeletal hands tore from the walls of the room, fingers grasping at anything they could get hold of. The entrance quickly become blocked by a set of steel bars meaning the only way out was to fight. Not wasting a moment, Amber leapt to her feet and span around, sending a foot sharply into the nearest hand, instantly splitting it in two. Realising how weak these hands were, she climbed back over the guillotine and began punching at the next ones she came to.

Ducking under an unexpected attack from above her head, Alanna whacked her attacker with both torches, causing it to shrink back into the depths of the wall. Watching Amber take out a few more hands, she noticed that no matter how many they defeated, more would appear in their places. There had to be a better way to deal with these things.

Grabbing her shield from between the wall and guillotine, Amber joined Alanna near the entrance, slicing through another group of bones as she moved. Holding the shield to one side, she felt a surge of energy vibrating from the weapon when she held it at a certain angle. Looking exactly where she was holding it, she raised her eyebrows in surprise; Alanna's torches were causing the sun on the front to glow a dim orange, soon changing to bright yellow the longer it was pressed against the flames. Holding it up towards some of the hands she gasped when a spiral of flames shot from the sun, scorching the bones within seconds.

"Haha, cool," Amber grinned. Making her way back to the centre of the room in the same way she'd done before, she stood directly in the middle to make sure she could reach every wall. "You might wanna duck," she warned Alanna. Gripping the shield by the edge, she began to spin her whole body around. Faster and faster she became until she was a blue of silver and orange, the sun still shining a bright yellow, bathing most of the room in its blinding light. Flames soon started to burst from the centre of the shield, shooting towards the ceiling where they incinerated any hands above. Bringing herself to a halt, she shook her head to get rid of any dizziness before holding the shield towards the walls where she repeated the process.

"Eek!" Alanna threw herself to the ground as a rush of fire flew over her head, taking care of the group of hands behind her.

Soon the room had been cleared of enemies, the door finally reopening for them to escape.

* * *

"You have to strangle it!" Amber's voice echoed throughout the cave as she arrived behind the creature which was still trying to attack the others.

"Huh?" Link blinked. "I guess it's worth a shot." Taking out the spiked ball and chains Shinro had given him, he swung them around in his hands for a second before attempting to lasso them around the creature's neck. Unfortunately, the chains couldn't get around its throat due to being too thick in such a small space.

Putting a hand on the cold wall, Saria wondered if plants were able to grow this far underground; after all, if there had been vines in the ceiling of the first room they'd been in then there might be a chance some would be growing in the ceilings down here too. Concentrating on the rock, she could feel vibrations of water trickling through the stone which was a good sign that plant life could be growing there. Reaching her hand towards the ceiling, she beckoned for the vines to come forth, focusing her mind on the plants.

Seeing Saria was up to something, Link decided it was better if the creature was distracted in the mean time.

"Hey, girls, can you distract it?" He called over the noise of another onslaught of purple liquid which was swiftly blocked by Taj.

"How does he expect us to do that?" Amber huffed. They were now standing in almost darkness due to the deku sticks fizzling out so it was even more difficult to see what was going on. Taking out her penknife she figured it was about time it was put to use. Rushing towards the back of the creature, she stabbed the small weapon into one of its thin legs, causing it to shriek in agony.

While the creature was distracted, a cluster of dark vines burst from the ceiling, their colour owing to the lack of natural light. Wrapping themselves tightly around its throat, they held the enemy in place as it tried desperately to untangle itself.

"I can't watch," Saria closed her eyes. Even if it was trying to kill them it was still a living being, just like the rest of them. And here she was, choking the life out of it.

In minutes the entire cave was silent. The creature was dead.

"It had to be done."

Feeling a hand take hers, Saria opened her eyes to see Link looking at her with a concerned expression.

"You're right," she nodded. "Besides, I suppose if I wasn't afraid to set it on fire, I shouldn't be too upset,"

Link wanted to laugh, even in a dire situation like this Saria would see a lighter side.

There was a loud rumble behind them as the large stone door rolled slowly out of the way, revealing a dark passage which led down towards light.

Picking up her penknife and helping Alanna over the lifeless creature, Amber joined them at the top of the newly formed passage. Glancing at the shield, she noticed the sun had returned to its normal golden colour. Following the group as they made their way down the stairs, she started to wonder what other things this weapon could do; it was clearly more powerful than she'd first imagined. Shame they were here to return it.

"So how did you work out how to kill that thing? Taj turned to ask her.

"Oh, I'm just a genius," Amber said casually.

This time Link laughed out loud.

"Well, good work, genius." He grinned, letting her have her moment.

* * *

There was a series of awed gasps from all of them as they entered the room at the bottom of the stairs. The ceiling was home to numerous holes which let in streams of golden daylight which lit up the room, giving it a majestic feel, something quite different from the rest of the shrine. Various plants and carvings were dotted around the walls: greens, browns, yellows, all merging together to create am earthy, natural atmosphere. The room itself was empty apart from a large stone statue at the back which took the shape of a bear on its hind legs, just like the one they had seen in the carvings. Even though it wasn't alive, the statue's eyes looked as if they were glaring at each of them in turn.

"So you have finally arrived, summoner ." A deep voice boomed throughout the room.

Alanna was shaking slightly but knew she had to do this.

"I was imprisoned here by humans who knew terrible magic almost two years ago." The voice continued. "I sensed you would be arriving soon."

A ghostly figure appeared in the room, its shape indistinguishable due to the beams of sunlight bouncing off the walls. Lowering itself over the statue, the figure appeared to become one with the stone.

"However, if you require my assistance there is something you need to do."

The eyes of the statue lit up into a blazing yellow.

"Prove yourself."

The stone bear charged forwards, bounding across the room in only a few strides. Lashing out at the nearest target who happened to be Link, it got a surprise when the boy back flipped out of the way of its long claws and rolled beneath its legs.

"It's fast," Link grit his teeth, watching Taj move in front of Alanna as the bear thrashed towards her.

Not letting the statue get the better of him, the Sheikah drew his sword, bringing it up to match its claws as it sliced downwards. The clash of metal against rock screeched around the room as the bear swiped furiously at Taj who blocked each attempt with quick movements of his blade. However, he wasn't sure how long he could keep it going until the bear managed to get past his weapon to his face.

As if to answer Taj's thoughts, a strong gust of wind suddenly took over the room, the immense force of the energy dragging the statue away from the boy, giving him the chance he needed to get in some extra attacks.

Appearing out of nowhere in front of Alanna, Saria held up a hand, changing the direction of the wind with ease. Using her other hand, she sent a wave of emerald magic towards the statue which seemed to gradually suck the life from it, bringing it back towards the Sage.

Joining Taj in the centre of the room, Link took on the bear's other paw so the Sheikah wasn't battling both at once. Both boys held their ground well but neither could make a hit that looked to actually weaken the stone of the statue. However, the spirit did seem to be weakening due to whatever Saria was doing to it.

Deciding she had better make herself useful, Amber dashed into the fray, sending her fists into the back of the bear, not even making a dent! Whatever this statue was made out of couldn't be harmed with physical force, but what about magic?

Letting out a mighty roar, the vibration of the noise sent the three flying across the room. Slamming into the far wall, Link growled, this thing was impossible to beat and Alanna had said it was one of the calmer spirits!

Turning its attention to the other girls, the bear rushed towards them, its claws ready to tear them apart in seconds. However, its plans were ruined the moment its claws reached a bright green barrier, unable to rip through it no matter how hard it tried. Not wanting to give up, the bear continued slamming its paws down on the transparent magical wall, determined to get to the girls behind.

Saria winced each time the bear hit the protective wall of Nayru's Love. It didn't look like it but each time the bear made contact, the wall was gradually weakening, it would only be a matter of time before it left her and Alanna defenceless. If it had just been her she could have easily moved whilst using the spell but since Alanna wasn't used to such magic it would surely come undone around her, leaving her open to attack.

It wasn't long before Link was back, sword in hand ready to take on the statue for however long he needed to. Getting its attention away from the girls for a second, he took out his bow and started firing light arrows at every angle he could land them on. They didn't do much damage but seemed to be working better than any physical attacks they'd tried. Leading the bear across the room, he looked towards Amber who had taken off her shield and was heading for Saria.

"Saria, can you power this up?" Amber held up the shield. She hoped that if fire could energize the weapon then maybe magic could too.

"I can give it a try," Saria dropped Nayru's Love so she could focus her magic into a blast of energy which was instantly absorbed by the shield. The magic rippled across the surface and instead of powering up the sun it remained in the rim, turning the weapon into a sizzling saucer of bright forest magic.

"Not what I imagined but it should do," Amber gave herself a quick spin before lobbing the shield across the room in the direction of the bear. As soon as it made contact with the statue, there was a small explosion, sending the bear tumbling to the ground with a startled cry.

Quickly taking out his ball and chain, Link shoved one of the balls in the bear's mouth so it was unable to send them flying away again. As soon as the statue bit down on the ball, it got a nasty shock when two of its front teeth cracked due to the strength of the weapon's material. Link was about to continue when there was a blinding flash of golden light from the statue.

Hurrying over to the fallen bear, Alanna held out her staff but wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do. Closing her eyes, she pictured the spirit being drawn into the staff then lifted it above her head.

"Please, mighty Magnus of the woodlands, lend us your aid on our journey!"

The ghostly figure reappeared from within the statue, this time it was clear it was that of a giant bear. Hovering for a moment over the fallen statue, it turned to Alanna with the staff and nodded. Twisting into a spiral of yellow energy, the woodland spirit wrapped itself around the wooden staff before becoming a part of the ancient artefact itself. A small carving of a bear on its hind legs appeared at the bottom on one side.

"Well done, it will be my honour to help such worthy battlers." Magnus' voice said, however, this time it seemed to be in her head, rather than in the room.

Lowering her staff in relief, Alanna smiled at the new spirit they had acquired. Perhaps this journey wouldn't be so impossible after all, maybe they really would be able to make a difference to Asterlin. Taking out her sketchbook and pencil, she took a seat in front of the broken statue and began to draw the scene which would lead them towards their next destination.


	10. Blade Fit for a Hero

Finishing her sketch, Alanna looked up at the others who were staring at her expectantly before signing her name in a clear space at the bottom of the picture. Slowly turning the page, she watched as the magic of the book created a new image of their next destination. A majestic castle set atop a small hill overlooking a run-down abandoned town appeared before them. It was difficult to see many details due to the size of the picture but it was clear to each of them that this place hadn't been inhabited for a while. Suddenly, a silhouette of a large wolf faded in on the roof of the castle, completing the scene.

"Tyson, Spirit of Reflection," Alanna mumbled, recognising the wolf spirit as its narrow eyes glared at her from within the drawing.

"So where is that place?" Amber leaned in to get a better look.

"Um, I'm not entirely sure," Alanna stood up and closed the book. "But I'm sure when we stop in Hollum the Council will point us in the right direction."

"Alright, let's get out of here," Link was about to head back the way they had come from when Alanna stopped him.

"Everyone grab onto me," she insisted, holding up the staff.

Deciding he'd see what she wanted to do, Link placed a hand on one of her shoulders followed by the others who were just as curious as him. Within seconds, a bright flash shot from the staff and they were standing back at the entrance of the swamp in the Emerald Valley. Various Emerocks marched around in the grass as if nothing had happened only hours ago while the sun was beginning to set behind the mountains in the distance, casting a golden glow across the fields and meadows.

"Impressive," Saria let go of Alanna's arm. "Reminds me of Farore's Wind."

"Magnus warped us here," Alanna explained. "I think it only works within each spirit's domain."

Taking a seat on the grass, Amber stretched her arms, yawning loudly. Lying back, she threw her hands behind her head and stared up at the orange sky. It had been such a hectic day, a few days ago she would have never dreamed of travelling to some distant country and being part of a group setting out to restore peace to it.

"Tired?" Taj peered over her, a slight smirk on his face.

"A little," the girl replied. In truth she was more than 'a little' tired, she was exhausted! Her body may have been used to extensive training but this was a whole new thing for her, she wasn't accustomed to being on the move constantly.

"Hollum is only a few hours from here, we should be there shortly after nightfall if we keep walking," Alanna instructed, taking out her map once again.

"OK, I suppose I can force myself to go a bit further, if it means I'll get to a bed that much faster," Amber pushed herself to her feet. "I'll race you!" She darted off, leaving the others to stand and stare after her.

* * *

A figure stood in front of a large bay window looking out over the Emerald Valley. The light of the moon illuminated the dark room, casting shadows along the floor and over the long table and chairs which were set in the centre. Various pictures lined the clear white walls, each shrouded in the darkness of the night. Hearing quick footsteps echoing along the corridor outside the room, the figure turned to see a middle-aged woman slip in through the double doors.

"Nadia," The figure said in a deep masculine voice. "What brings you here, so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," The woman referred to as Nadia took a seat in one of the chairs at the table. She was of slender build, pale skin and average height. Her dark, almost black hair was pulled into a tight bun, a few loose strands curling around her pointed face. Thin-rimmed glasses sat on her nose as she rested her chin on her hand, lips pressed firmly together, dark eyes staring intently out of the window.

"I was simply admiring the scenery," The figure replied, a slight chuckle following.

"I heard Alanna Laramie has started her journey," Nadia twisted one of the loose strands of hair around a finger. "Do you think she'll succeed?"

"Depends who she's got working with her, probably a group of bumbling idiots who think they're doing the world a favour."

"But they are," Nadia set her gaze on the figure. "Or don't you agree?"

"I'll reserve my judgement until I meet them for myself."

"Word is they've already secured the aid of Magnus."

The figure laughed.

"Magnus is a weak spirit, governed by a weak old man."

Nadia raised an eyebrow, surprised at the remark.

"I don't think Bryce would appreciate you talking about him like that."

Taking a step back from the window, the figure moved towards the table, his appearance becoming clearer to the woman who had been talking to his silhouette until now. He was a tall, heavily built man with broad shoulders leading down to thick, muscular arms. He wasn't much older than Nadia, although his facial features were far more worn than hers, cold blue eyes looking at her with amusement. His head was bald, although whether it was due to age, choice or another reason was unclear, no one had ever dared to ask.

"Lucky he's not here then," he smirked, setting both hands on the table. "Who'll be here when they arrive?"

"Well, if it's tomorrow, me, you, Bryce and possibly Hiro," Nadia replied, standing from where she had been sitting. "Rhiannon is still at Canarfon Castle and Calvin..."

"Is being as useless as ever?" The man sighed. Calvin was the newest Council member, only taking up the position a year ago due to the death of his mother who had previously held his seat at the table. His realm consisted of the oceans surrounding Asterlin, meaning Akimaru was his guardian to watch over. However, to say Calvin was laid back would be an understatement; his presence was rarely felt during their meetings since he almost always forgot to turn up. "If he doesn't start pulling his weight we will have to reconsider his position."

"I suppose you're right," Nadia sighed. She knew they couldn't keep Calvin on the Council if he kept missing meetings and not attending to his duties but in his defence, he was one of the only people able to communicate effectively with Akimaru at that moment. He would often be seen surfing alongside the spirit in the ocean or calming it down when it got itself into a rage which happened at least every other day. It also wasn't an easy task replacing a Council member, especially one whose bloodline had been involved in the running of Asterlin for centuries.

"Let's discuss this another time," the figure moved towards the door. "For now we need to focus on the well-being of the country and those who will be 'saving' it."

Before Nadia had a chance to question him any further, the man disappeared from the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

"Goodnight, Kyron."

* * *

"There it is!" Alanna exclaimed as they approached the tip of a hill which led down into the midst of the Emerald Valley. Nestled at the base stood the second largest city in Asterlin, the lights of the buildings illuminating the night as they travelled down the hill towards the tall iron gate which was being closed for the night by a group of guards. "Wait!" Alanna shouted when they arrived at the entrance.

"Hmm?" One of the guards looked in their direction. "Who might you kids be?"

"We're here to save the world!" Amber pushed her way to the front. "I'm surprised you didn't know we were coming."

"What she means is, we're here to see the Council," Alanna said before Amber could confuse the guards further. "I'm Alanna Laramie."

"Ah," Another guard nodded in recognition. "They mentioned you'd be coming, but…" he turned to his fellows, "Kyron did give us orders to lock the gates after dark ever since the spirits have been acting oddly."

"Aw c'mon!" Amber slid her hands around the bars. "I'm tired and hungry and want to go to bed! Not to mention I need to use certain other facilities!"

_I don't fancy camping out tonight, especially with no camping stuff. _Saria said to Link before joining Amber and Alanna at the gate. "Are you nice young men really going to let some girls, and Amber, stay out here all night alone to face the dangers of the valley?"

"What do you mean _and_ Amber!" Amber shouted but got no response as the guards interrupted her.

"I can see your point Miss, but those two certainly are not girls." he pointed to Link and Taj.

"Well, uh," Saria tried to think of another reason for them to be let through.

"How do you know they aren't girls?" Amber asked.

"You what!" Link growled.

"Just saying, you never know," the Gerudo turned to face the boys enabling the guards to see the shield on her back.

"Oh! You have the shield!" The first guard exclaimed. "Please, come right in."

"Huh? So you won't let us in when I say who I am but the shield gets us in with no problems?" Alanna mumbled, walking past the group of guards as the gate creaked open.

"You can never be too careful Miss, you could have been anyone," the guards insisted.

The city of Hollum may not have been the largest city in Asterlin but it was well-known for being the oldest, having been home to countless generations of Council members and other Asterlinian families. Streets paved with cracked cobbles weaved their way throughout the city which was usually bustling with numerous townsfolk and travellers from all over the country. However, the town seemed empty at that time of night, merchants were shutting up their shops, parents ushered young children inside while stray animals began rummaging through any loose rubbish they could find. The main feature of Hollum was a giant dome-shaped building which was slightly elevated above the rest of the city situated directly in the centre. The curved roof was decorated with faint engravings of each of the spirit animals which appeared to almost be glowing under the pale light of the moon. It was that building the Council members would meet regularly to discuss goings on as well as deal with any issues residents were having.

"We need to find an inn," Link said when he noticed Amber looking curiously down each street they passed. "We can explore properly tomorrow."

"And finding an inn is on the travelling rule list, right Link?" Madi chirped, after being unusually silent for most of the evening.

"Yeah, number two," Link grinned, he'd forgotten all about his travelling rules.

"Two? What's the first one?" Amber asked.

"Wear sturdy travelling shoes." Both Link and Saria said in unison.

Looking down at her feet, Amber gave them a slight smile. She had been making do with her sandals for the last few days but she could see their point, her feet were starting to hurt a little.

"If I remember correctly there's an inn down there," Alanna pointed to one of the main streets.

"So, how many of these rules are there?" Amber continued asking questions as they rounded the corner.

"Um… about thirty, I think," Link replied.

"Really? What's the most recent one?"

"Wasn't it something to do with redheads?" Taj wondered aloud, trying to remember the rule Link had made up when he had done something involving Malon.

"Oh yeah," Link winced at the memory. "Never tease an angry redhead with a pitchfork. I can still feel that thing in my foot."

Upon entering the inn the first thing both Link and Saria noticed was that it wasn't as homely as the majority they had visited in the last few years. The foyer they were greeted with where reception was situated was rather formal with barely any décor to make guests feel welcomed. However, the young woman behind the counter gave them a warm smile which made them feel slightly more assured about staying there.

It was agreed that the girls would share one room while the boys would have another to save expense. Digging his hand into his pocket, Link took out a bag of rupees which he hoped would be enough to pay with.

"Oh, you can't use those," Alanna stopped him.

"Hmm? Don't tell me you don't use rupees," Link mumbled. "I have some ebelons if they're any better?"

"The currency of Asterlin is the cylio," the woman behind the desk explained.

"Here," Alanna held up a small silver circle "This is worth ten cylios."

Taking the circle, Link admired the amount of detail on both of its faces. On one side was a picture of what must have been Magnus while on the other was written the amount the circle was worth.

"The shapes change depending on how much they're worth," the girl continued, taking out some more to show them. She held out a triangle with rounded edges which was worth thirty, a square worth forty and a pentagon worth fifty. "You simply take the amount of sides the particular shape has and multiply it by ten. There are more shapes too but I only have these."

"Are you sure a circle has one side?" Amber wondered aloud. "I heard differently."

"Well whatever you heard you can forget since this is what we're taught in Asterlin," Alanna collected in her money. "I'll pay for both rooms until we find a place to exchange your rupees."

"I'm sure she forgets most things she's learned anyway," Koda whispered to the nearest person he was floating by who happened to be Taj. The Sheikah covered his mouth as he grinned so Amber wouldn't attempt to get the joke out of him.

After being escorted to their rooms, Amber and Alanna decided to explore the inn in search of food leaving Saria to admire the view from a small balcony in the girls' room. Looking out over the city, her eyes settled on the large dome in the centre. The girl had never seen anything quite like it before so was curious to take a look inside if they got the chance.

"I bet that's where the Council is based," Koda landed on the balcony next to her.

"You're probably right," Saria agreed.

"Hopefully they believe you without too many problems."

"Problems?" She glanced at the fairy. "We have the shield and are willing to help return it, I can't see why they would have a problem."

"They might want to fight you!" Madi joined the conversation. "You know, to prove you're worthy and all that."

"I'm sure it will be fine."

"Yeah and if it's not I'll prove we're 'worthy'," Link came up behind Saria putting his arms around her.

"And what do we owe this visit to?" She asked, twisting around in his arms and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Just thought I'd come say goodnight to my beautiful girlfriend," he grinned, leaning in to kiss her.

"Well Amber's not here so you'll have to make do with me," she smiled returning the kiss.

"Oh, Amber is definitely all yours," Link sighed. Looking back into the room he saw it was set out with a double bed and a single bed. "I assume she's in the single?"

"That's the plan."

"Hey lovebirds look what I've got!" Amber burst into the room carrying a large basket full of baked goods. "I just found these on the front desk and no one was there so I figured I could take them."

"Um, I don't think-", Saria started.

"Mmm, this stuff is good," Amber took a bite out of a bread roll. "Come on, try some!"

"I guess I am hungry..." Link moved towards the basket.

"Link!" Saria went to grab the basket. "It's stolen!"

"Girl please, I know what stealing is and trust me, it's not this easy," the Gerudo shoved another piece of bread in her mouth. "Call it a golden opportunity which I was lucky enough to come across."

"Listen, when we find a bank to exchange the rupees I'll come back and leave some cylios where it was found," Link tried to make Saria feel better about taking the food.

"OK, I suppose we do need to eat," Saria took something from the basket. "And this stuff is tasty."

"Wow, so that's Sheikah script?" Alanna asked Taj as they sat on his bed looking through a small book Impa had given him when he had first started his training with her.

"Yeah, this book tells of the history of the race, including any items we created." He turned to a picture of the Lens of Truth which Alanna recognised immediately.

"What about your sword?"

"It doesn't seem to be in here, I don't think the Sheikah created it," Taj shook his head, the blade really was a mystery to him.

"Hmm," Alanna glanced at the blade on the floor. "You know, I might have seen a picture or something of that sword before... but I can't remember exactly."

"Well if you remember you'll have to let me know," the boy gave her a smile and closed the book.

"Did you two want any food?" Link appeared in the doorway with a small cake in one hand.

"No, that's alright, I got us some when I went to the inn restaurant," Alanna replied. "Where did Amber get hers?"

"Um, the same place," Link said quickly, not wanting to explain what really happened. "You must've missed each other."

"Right, well I'll leave you two to get some sleep," Alanna stood to leave. "Goodnight."

Waiting for the girl to be fully out of earshot, Taj turned to Link.

"Amber stole the food huh?"

"Yeah..."

"Typical," the older boy grinned.

Walking back into the girls' room, Alanna got an eyeful when she saw Amber stripping down to her underwear. Saria was stood on the other side with her hands over her eyes while the Gerudo didn't seem bothered at all by being practically naked in front of people she hardly knew.

"What are you doing!" Alanna asked as she looked in the other direction.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Amber asked. "I'm getting ready for bed! I told Saria before we left I didn't get time to pack anything!"

Later that night, both girls were forced to listen to the thunderous sound that was Amber's snoring. It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

The city of Hollum in the morning was a totally different place from the one they had arrived at the night before. Residents bustled around the streets as merchants opened their shops to begin new day of trade. Horse-drawn carriages moved along the cobbled streets carrying the wealthier inhabitants while the majority of the city walked on foot to their destinations. The sound of a school bell echoed across the city as groups of children made their way towards the local school, shouting and laughing while weaving through the crowds.

In the centre of the city, a small perfectly shaped cloud hovered over the Council building where Nadia sat observing the morning's events. She would often sit overlooking the city when she wasn't managing things in her own region. However, today she was looking for something in particular; a certain group of people she was hoping had finally arrived. Peering over the edge of the cloud, she gave a slight smile when she saw who was approaching.

"Hey sis, want to give me a lift?" A man who appeared to be quite a few years younger than her shouted up. Light brown bushy hair covered his head and framed his rugged, tanned face. Giving her a smile as she formed another cloud beneath him, he settled himself in a cross-legged position in the middle, deep brown eyes enjoying the view when he reached a similar height to hers.

"Good morning, Hiro," Nadia turned to face her brother. "It's been a while since we've seen each other."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he ran a hand through his hair. "Things haven't been going well over in Canarfon, Rhiannon's brother has gone a bit crazy so I've been trying to help calm things down."

Nadia nodded. She knew what had been happening in the small town was mainly due to one of the spirits but they were powerless to do anything until the summoner came. Looking down over the large concrete arena at the back of the Council building, she rolled her eyes when she saw Kyron practising various offensive spells and techniques.

"What does he think he's doing?" Hiro followed her gaze.

"Who knows with him?" Nadia sighed. "Whatever it is I get the feeling we'll find out later today."

* * *

"Mmm, that was a good sleep!" Amber announced as they walked out of the inn into the morning sun.

"Maybe for you," Saria covered her mouth as she yawned.

"Yeah," Alanna rubbed her eyes, struggling to keep them open.

"Huh?" The Gerudo stared at both girls then turned her attention to Saria. "Hey, I thought you and Link needed to share a room?"

"Um," Saria couldn't think of a suitable response.

"Only during certain cycles of the moon," Link came to her rescue, trying his best to keep a straight face.

"I see," Amber didn't know what to say. "Well, that's… nice."

"I can't believe she's still buying that," Madi giggled behind Link's head.

Rummaging around in her bag, Alanna brought out a handful of lists she had prepared before leaving. Handing them out to the group, she ignored the puzzled expressions until she was finished.

"I've taken the time to write up lists of what we need. Each of you has specific items you need to find in the city. Let's meet back here in a few hours."

Splitting up, they each went their separate ways in the hope to find everything they needed before meeting with the Council.

"Hmm, I wonder what's down here?" Link turned down a busy street, narrowly avoiding being knocked over by a passing horse and carriage.

"Something a lot of people want to get to by the looks of it!" Madi exclaimed from his shoulder.

Suddenly a loud bell rang out from a large building surrounded by grounds full of playing children. Walking up to the tall mesh fence separating the building from the rest of the street, Link watched curiously as the children began to form into lines in front of various adults. Hearing a scream from his right, he jerked his head to see a young girl almost in tears as she tried to reach something an older boy was waving above her head. Light blonde curls bounced as she gave a final jump before bursting into tears.

"Hey you big bully!" Madi shouted.

Looking up, the boy noticed Link walking towards them.

"Are you alright little girl?" Link knelt down beside the crying girl.

"How about you butt out?" The boy snarled, until Link stood to his full height. The kid barely reached the middle of his chest.

"He won't give me back my ocarina!" The girl sniffed. "I need it for the school concert!"

"Ocarina?" Link looked surprised, he hadn't met many people who could play.

"You don't need it! It's a piece of rubbish!"

Taking in the boy's appearance, Link was reminded of an overweight Mido. His face was round and chubby but had that overconfident look which used to haunt his dreams when he was younger. His right hand was clutching the small instrument, dark patterned wood visible through the gaps between his fingers.

"Punch him right in the face Link!" Madi hissed from his neck so only he could hear.

Ignoring the fairy, Link took out his own ocarina and began to play Saria's Song. Instantly, small groups of people started to stop and listen to the music. Some would clap, others would dance and some would even throw cylios at the boy who played the instrument in such a way that it was difficult not to be drawn towards the melody.

"Wow! You're really good!" The girl clapped, smiling up at him with grateful dark eyes.

"So do you still think an ocarina is rubbish?" Link grinned at the younger boy who huffed in defeat and reluctantly handed the other ocarina back to the girl before waddling away.

"Oh thank you!" The girl dove at Link, wrapping her arms around his legs. "That big meanie used to steal my ocarina all the time but I bet he won't anymore now I have a big brother!"

"Uh," Link didn't know how to respond to that.

"Mia!" A voice called from within the schoolyard. "Hurry up, you're going to be late!"

"Bye big brother!" Mia waved, ocarina firmly clasped in the other hand.

"Well, that was interesting," Madi said what Link was thinking.

_Link? Are you OK? _Saria's voice echoed into his mind.

_Huh? Oh! Haha, sorry, was just showing someone what a great composer you are. _It had been so long since they had needed to use the song to communicate that he had forgotten it still worked in that way.

Bringing out the list Alanna had given him, he read down the three items listed.

_Find bank to exchange rupees  
Buy new sword  
Pay for food basket at the inn_

"I suppose I better go find a bank then," he folded up the paper and walked away from the school.

"Why didn't you punch him?" Madi pouted.

"Because, it would have made his face look better," Link laughed.

* * *

In the centre of the city, Taj was browsing the sea of stalls and small shops. His list items had been made up of food supplies so he had thought this part of town would be the best to look first. About to enter what appeared to be a bakery, he heard something from down the street.

"Roll up! Roll up! Come try your luck and win 100 cylios!"

Walking over to where the shouting was coming from, Taj found a man running a minigame stall. On the counter were three wooden cups and a small shard of some kind of metal.

"Hello young man, are you interested in playing? Just guess which cup the cylio shard is under to progress to the next round. Your first play is free!"

Seeing he had nothing to lose, Taj agreed to play. Watching the man place the shard beneath one of the cups, he smirked to himself when he realised he was able to see through the cups. Pretending to pay extra attention when the man moved the cups around for a few seconds, Taj gave himself a moment to look like he was actually thinking before selecting the cup the shard was under.

"Beginner's luck," the game owner mumbled. "Alright, let's see if you can win all five rounds."

Taking the shard and placing it beneath another cup, he started moving them about faster than before. This time there was no way the boy would guess right.

"That one," Taj pointed to the right cup.

After winning four rounds, Taj could see the owner was becoming frustrated. Most people could win the first one or two rounds, but no one had won four in a row.

"Hey, look at that!" The owner gasped, pointing at something in the distance.

Turning to look, Taj couldn't see anything. This gave the owner time to grab the shard and put it in his pocket.

_Heh, now let's see him win._

Waiting for Taj to turn his attention back to the game, the man started moving the cups once more.

"OK, if you can get this one I'll give you the prize."

Staring at the cups, Taj knew the man had done something with the shard.

"It's not in any of them," the boy insisted.

"Of course it's under one of them!"

"No, it isn't." Taj wasn't going to be cheated, even if he was technically cheating himself.

By now a small group had gathered to watch with interest as Taj had kept winning the rounds. A man who was standing nearest to the stall snatched up the first cup.

"Well it ain't in this one."

"Or this one," a woman the other side of Taj said as she picked up another cup.

"And not this one either," Taj grinned as he picked up the middle cup.

"Oy, that's against game rules!" The owner growled. He couldn't believe he had been found out.

"We could go somewhere less public to discuss these rules," Taj placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, having no intention to use it but it was enough to scare the man.

"N-no, it's fine! Take your prize," the owner sighed, handing over the cylios in defeat.

"Pleasure playing with you," Taj bowed.

* * *

Walking out of a potion shop with a box full of various potions and ingredients, Saria paused to put the box down while she started putting some of the bottles into her pockets. Looking up, she couldn't help smiling when she noticed Koda admiring himself in the glass of a red potion.

"I always thought Madi was exaggerating when she said how vain you can be."

"Huh? This isn't vain! I'm uh… making sure these bottles are as full as they should be," Koda grinned, quickly moving away from his reflection.

"Hey, Saria!" A voice shouted down the street. "We've found a great clothes shop, you have to come check it out!"

Amber and Alanna had been given the task of finding camping supplies as well as anything else they thought might be useful for the journey. Waving her arms wildly, the Gerudo wasn't going to stop until she had gotten the Kokiri's attention.

Walking into the shop the girls were greeted by a rainbow of colours as they made their way through the racks and shelves of various sizes and styles.

"Did you two want some new outfits or something?" Saria asked, spotting the changing rooms to the back of the shop.

"Nah, mine are fairly new but you two should definitely get something," Alanna grinned, holding up a bag of cylios. "My treat."

"Oh no, I-"

"Come on Saria! Let's have some fun!" Amber grabbed the girl's arm, dragging her into the clothe racks.

Bursting into the changing rooms, Amber emerged a few minutes later looking like she was dressed ready for a war. Golden armour covered most of her body, leaving only her face unprotected as she pranced about, swinging a pretend sword which had been included with the outfit.

Following shortly after Amber, Saria appeared in a long white summer dress covered in blue and yellow flowers. Pulling on a pair of long-sleeved white gloves, she picked up a parasol and span around a few times.

"Saria in a dress? Where's my diary when I need it?" Koda laughed.

After trying on a number of different outfits, the girls finally started looking for things they would actually consider wearing.

"Hmm, I like this look," Amber smiled at herself in a floor-length mirror. The girl had found a pair of long black, tight-fitting trousers which went out slightly at the bottom. A silver chain wrapped around her waist in place of a belt, the end reaching half way down her right leg. She had found a similar top to the one she had been wearing, only this time it was a navy colour with sleeves a little longer. Sitting on a nearby stool, she slid off her old sandals and swapped them for a pair of black boots which looked more appropriate for travelling long distances.

"I have to agree," Alanna nodded. "You do look good."

"Now for 'Miss Green'," Amber turned to Saria who had yet to find anything she liked.

"How about this?" Alanna held up a pale, forest- green jacket.

Taking the jacket, Saria had to admit it was nice. The material felt soft, reminding her of a fleece Link had shown her once but also not too heavy so it could be worn in most types of weather. Slipping her arms into the sleeves she found it went down to her waist, fitting better than she had expected. Doing up the small buttons, she turned around when she got a tap on the shoulder from Amber.

"Try these next!" The girl had picked out a pair of dark green denim shorts which looked a few inches longer than the current ones Saria wore.

"I suppose it won't hurt to try them," Saria took the shorts into the changing room. Pulling back the curtains moments later, she was greeted with nods from both girls. The new shorts ran down to an inch or so above her ankles, an improvement on the old ones which barely reached her knees anymore.

On their way to the counter, Alanna stopped to rummage through a pile of clothes.

"Do you think Taj would like these?" She took out a pair of grey trousers and a baggy, dark blue jumper.

"Um, they look a bit… normal, for Taj," Saria stared at the clothes.

"Oh well, I'll get them just in case," Alanna shoved them onto the counter with the rest of the things.

* * *

Finally finding the weapon shop, Link pushed open the door where he was greeted with the scene of swords, shields, axes and various other items hanging on the shop walls.

"If we had gone the way I suggested we would have gotten here a lot sooner," Madi huffed.

"Whatever you say," Link mumbled, looking for someone to speak to.

"Hello young man, how can I help?" A man appeared from the back room.

"Well I'm-"

_Boom_

Out of nowhere a massive explosion erupted through the shop doorway. Feeling himself flying forward, Link crashed into the main counter, narrowly avoiding being hit by falling weapons as a group of people burst into the building, grabbing anything they could get their hands on. Pushing himself up, he managed to get a glimpse of the group rushing out of the shop as the smoke cleared.

"They've taken my finest swords!" The owner yelled.

"I'll get them," Link dashed out of the door and looked both ways.

"Over there!" Madi shouted, fluttering in the direction the thieves were running.

Hurrying down the street, Link ran straight past the clothes shop where Saria had just exited. Seeing Link chasing a group of suspicious- looking men, she didn't wait long before following.

"Link! What happened?"

"Those punks think they can get some free swords," Link explained as she caught up to him.

Following the group, which was made up of three young men, the pair managed to keep up with them until they reached the outskirts of the city. Clambering up a slope which led into the side of one of the large mountains surrounding the valley, the men were about to make their getaway into a cave when a series of trees shot out of the ground, blocking their escape. However, one man did manage to slip through and into the darkness.

"Hello," Saria waved at the two others from a branch in one of the trees. "Going somewhere?"

Turning to run the other way they stopped when faced with Link, sword ready if he needed to use it. The first man took out two of the swords they had stolen, holding them nervously in both hands it was obvious he had no idea how to use them. Not waiting for him to attack, Link swiped forward knocking one sword clean out of his grasp before doing the same to the other. Stepping in front of the fallen blades, the boy took out Din's Fire, holding the sizzling spell threateningly in front of the thieves' faces.

"Since you two like heat so much you might be interested in testing out this spell."

"N-no! We're sorry, please don't hurt us!" Both fell to the floor trembling.

"Fine, I'll let you go," Link put away Din's Fire, collected up the swords and stood aside. "But if I catch you again…"

The men ran off before they could find out what would happen next time.

"You're good at the intimidation act," Saria jumped from the tree as the spell wore off.

"Heh, you learn a lot about cowards like that when you were bullied by one most of your childhood," he smirked.

Suddenly there was a scream from within the cave. The third man bolted out of the entrance, running right past the pair without even stopping to blink.

"I wonder what's in there?" Saria turned towards the cave.

"Only one way to find out," Link took the lead.

"I don't like the look of this," Koda commented, his and Madi's lights the only source lighting their path.

The moment they had stepped into the cave the air changed to a bitter cold. Water could be heard dripping from the ceiling as well as numerous rodents and insects scuttling about in the dirt. Carefully making their way along the uneven pathway, the darkness of the cave gradually began to disappear until the passage was bathed in a golden light. Rounding a corner, they came across a seemingly dead end, the only feature being a pile of rotten bones in the corner.

"Well, nothing here, let's get out!" Madi didn't like the atmosphere generating in the air.

A strong gust of wind spiralled around them as a blur of grey levitated from the pile of bones causing Saria to grip onto Link's arm. All she and the fairies could hear was a low moaning sound coming from the blurred ghost. Link on the other hand was seeing and hearing something different.

"I've been waiting a while for someone who can see me. Is that someone you, boy?" The ghost asked. It had taken on the shape of an elderly man dressed in regal clothing, a symbol of a wolf sewn onto various parts of his clothing.

"I-I think so," Link spoke, moving closer to the ghost.

"Who're you talking to?" Saria asked, her hand still clasped around his arm.

Link looked at her then back to the ghost, wondering why she couldn't see it too.

"My ghost will only become visible to a hero worthy of my most treasured possession."

Raising a hand, the figure caused an object to materialise in mid-air. Floating down to Link's eye level, the boy gasped when he saw what it was. A long, golden blade like none other he had ever seen before, a shining silver hilt with engraved patterns snaking their way around it. On the handle of the hilt were three vertical hollow circular gaps, large enough to fit a small stone. Running a finger along the smooth hilt, Link took the handle with his whole hand and pulled it from the air.

"My name is Alwyn, Lord Alwyn. I hail from Eastern Asterlin in a small town known as Canarfon. Well, I did when I was alive but that was generations ago!"

"How did you end up here?" Link couldn't keep his eyes off the sword.

"I was defeated in battle and my body was abandoned in this cave, but that is not relevant! What is important is that you know the three diamonds which were set in the hilt of my sword were stolen from me. While the blade is a fine weapon as it is, it can become even more powerful when all three are placed in the hollows."

"Do you have any idea where they are?"

"I am unsure exactly. However, I do know one did find its way back to my hometown, to one of my descendants. Whether it is still there or not is unknown to me. If you are willing to restore the sword's powers then I will allow you to keep it. It is of no use to me an longer."

"Of course, I'd be honoured to wield such a blade," Link smiled, holding up the blade in the golden light. He finally had a new sword, a sword fit for a hero.


	11. Midnight Ambush

As Alwyn's ghost gradually disappeared, the sword became visible to Saria and the fairies.

"Oh, that's a cool sword," Saria admired the colour of the blade. "But where did it come from?"

Leaving the cave, Link explained to her about Alwyn and how only he was able to see his ghost and receive the sword. Turning to glance at her properly, he noticed her new outfit.

"When did you get those? You look really nice," he smiled.

"Thanks," she returned the smile. "Amber and Alanna persuaded me to-"

"There you are!" Amber's voice echoed up the hill. "Sneaking off for a bit of alone time were we?"

"If only," Link mumbled. Putting a hand in his pocket, he felt the bracelet he had made for Saria a few weeks ago.

"Where did you get that?" Taj noticed Link's new sword as he and Alanna joined them.

After explaining for a second time, they made their way back to the weapon shop so the stolen swords could be returned.

"Impressive," Nadia had been observing the chase from her cloud. It would often be left to her or another Council member to deal with those types of goings on in the city but today she hadn't needed to intervene. It was clear the spell used by the green-haired girl wasn't something an ordinary mage would cast and the boy, there was something about him that she couldn't quite pinpoint. Watching them emerge from the weapon shop, she was looking forward to meeting them in person later that day.

* * *

"A new sword and now a free sheath? I'm jealous," Amber commented on Link's new red and gold sheath that the shop owner had given him for returning the swords.

"Not like you don't have enough free stuff of your own," Link half smiled, referring to the gauntlets and shield. Taking out the Gilded Sword, he turned to Saria and held it out. "I believe this belongs to you. Feels like the end of an era to finally have to part with it."

"How am I going to explain this to Mido?" She accepted the sword which was totally unrecognisable as the Kokiri Sword.

"Um, don't?" He grinned sheepishly. "Maybe he'll forget and won't ask about it."

"Good luck, I heard Mido can't wait to get his hands on that sword," Koda informed them.

"How do you know?" Saria asked.

"Kane told me."

"I should've known," Saria thought of Kane, Mido's fairy who was always full of stories about what the mischievous Kokiri was getting up to.

"Here we are!" Alanna interrupted their conversation as the group arrived at the entrance to the Council building.

They were greeted with an extravagant entrance hall which almost rivalled that of the Hylian royal castle. Glistening white tiles lined the floor causing even the slightest of footsteps to echo throughout the room. Numerous enquiry desks were set on one side where various receptionists and other employees of the Council busied themselves with the day's work. A magnificent chandelier hung from the centre of the high ceiling, flames flickering around the edges of it illuminating the room in whites, yellows and oranges. However, the feature that stood out most was the impressive mural which covered the entire eastern wall. Vibrant blues, greens, reds, browns and a sea of other colours melted together to create one of the most stunning pieces of art any of the group from Hyrule had ever seen.

"Oh, how beautiful," Saria marvelled at the painting, admiring the detail of the rolling green hills, red rocky mountains and swirling blue oceans.

"That's Asterlin," Alanna explained. "They say the very first Council members painted this centuries ago."

"So where are we now?" Link stared at the map trying to pinpoint their location.

"Um," Alanna paused for a moment before pointing out what looked like a large grey dot in the centre of the green area. "There's Hollum."

"Looks like someone threw some buckets of paint at the wall and hoped for the best," Amber said crossing her arms, not feeling as impressed with the art as the others.

"One of my ancestors worked on this piece, I don't think they had paint buckets back in those days," a voice came from behind them.

Turning to face the voice they were greeted with an amused Nadia who had her arms folded in a similar manner to Amber, a slight smirk crossing her face.

"I'm sure they had alternatives," Amber huffed. "Who're you anyway?"

"Lady Nadia! It's an honour to finally meet you in person!" Alanna moved in front of Amber and curtsied to a surprised Nadia.

"Why thank you, no need for such formality though, Nadia will do just fine," the woman smiled, turning her attention to the whole group. "The Council has been awaiting your arrival so please follow me."

Being led along a corridor to the side of one of the reception desks, the group couldn't help but stop and marvel at some of the artwork lining the walls. Various pictures of landscapes and historical figures greeted them at every corner.

"I'm sure I've seen that before," Saria stood in front of a large painting of a collection of rocks.

"Ah yes, that's a piece by van Goro, the famous Goron artist," Nadia explained.

"Goron?" Link blinked. "There are Gorons in Asterlin too?"

Yeah, they live on the far mountains," Alanna walked past most of the pictures without a second glance having seen most of them on numerous occasions across the country.

Ushering them through a nearby set of double doors, Nadia entered behind the group as they came face-to-face with the Asterlin Council. In contrast to the darkness of the previous evening, the large bay window allowed the morning light to pour into the room, spilling over the table and chairs causing small beams of light to bounce in every direction. The pictures which lined the walls were now clearly visible, each displaying a different region of the country.

"Welcome children," an elderly man greeted them from a seat in front of the table. Standing from the chair, the man was no taller than Saria, his face and head covered in thick grey hair which almost completely hid any other features from view, giving him an appearance of one of the dogs from Hyrule market. However, amongst the hair there could still be seen a pair of dark kind eyes which sparkled with what could only be years of wisdom.

"Hello, sir," Alanna stepped forward to take his hand.

"Sir?" he gave a chuckle. "Bryce will fine. Now, I heard you've already been to my region. How is Magnus?"

"How is he?" Alanna hadn't really thought to ask a spirit how it was doing. "I uh-"

"Never mind about small talk!" Kyron snapped from the back of the room, resting his hands on the table he glowered at the group. "You went to the swamp without our permission, is this how you intend to act for your entire journey?"

"N-no, of course not!" Alanna was starting to feel quite intimidated.

"It was my idea to go to the swamp first," Link stepped forward, "There was some trouble on the way in that direction so I thought it would be easier for us to go there first. And if we-"

"I don't think it matters," Nadia interrupted. "The important thing is that you're here now. Right Kyron?"

"Hmm." The man moved closer, inspecting each of them in turn. "I'm sensing a lot of magical energy from over here," he looked at Link and Saria. "However, I'm not getting anything from this end."

"Hey! We don't all need 'cosmic powers' to be useful," Amber frowned. "And I'm the only one who can carry the shield."

"Yes, why is that?" Kyron tried to get a better look at the shield.

"I um, I'm not sure," Amber rubbed the back of her head.

"Well I'm not convinced you're up to the task of returning it to its rightful place. This should be the job of the Council." Attempting to touch the shield, he got a shock when it scorched his fingers.

"You know we can't do that Kyron, the prophecy says-"

"I don't care what the prophecy says!" The younger man shouted at Bryce. "How can we put our trust in a group of children? No, you'll have to prove yourselves, the strongest of you will have to show me what you're truly capable of. "

Link put his hand on his sheathed sword.

"I told you!" Madi hissed in Saria's ear.

"Alright! I'll fight you!" Amber sprang forward, removing the shield from her back. "I am the leader after all."

"Wha?" Link gaped. "Since when?"

"Since you all voted me to be. Remember that time, in that place, that one afternoon?"

"In a parallel universe maybe," Taj mumbled.

"Well anyway, don't worry, I can handle this guy," she winked, following Kyron outside.

"Amber! Amber get back here!" Link grit his teeth not liking where this was going. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned around.

"Let her go, maybe this is a good way for her to learn that she's not as invincible as she thinks she is," Saria tried to calm him down. "I just hope she doesn't get hurt."

* * *

Kyron led Amber outside to the arena the Council used to practice various magic techniques. Glancing up to the balcony above, he saw the rest of the group watching, Nadia with an un-amused expression on her face. Ignoring his colleague, he turned his attention back to Amber who was standing opposite him with an eager look in her eyes.

"You've got guts, I'll give you that," he grinned. "But you're way in over your head this time." Lunging toward her, he stopped inches from her face before disappearing completely from sight. Seconds later, he had split into several copies and formed a circle around the girl leaving no way to escape.

"Five against one isn't fair," Amber pouted. "Or six, or seven, or however many of you there are." Watching the movement of the clones carefully, she hoped to spot one with a subtle difference but it was no good, they all looked exactly the same and were all preparing to fire an orb of purple energy in her direction. Throwing herself to the ground, she narrowly avoided the attack as the spells met above her head in a clash of light.

Merging back into one, Kyron walked towards the girl and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her up until her feet were barely touching the floor. Attempting to sling her across the battlefield, he got a shock when he found he couldn't move her an inch. She was somehow pouring all her strength into pushing against his hand.

"Good thing she stole those gauntlets after all," Link was impressed with how the Gerudo was making use of her extra strength.

Reaching around with her free hand, Amber went to grip Kyron's arm to pull it away from her own but then decided another strategy would be more effective. Changing direction before he noticed, she sent a fist into his face which threw him completely off balance and gave her time to free herself from his grasp. Not waiting for a response, she ran forward, sending out a foot aimed at the centre of his chest.

However, the man was too fast. Recovering from the unexpected blow, he gripped her foot and sent her flying a few feet in the opposite direction. Closing the distance between them, he grabbed her by the shirt, using his other hand to run a finger along her cheek.

Amber winced as something sharp caught her skin, noticing that Kyron was wearing a golden ring with a small, spiked stone in the centre which looked strangely like the spiked edges of her shield.

"Okay! I think that's enough," Nadia appeared beside the two in a sphere of wind. "She's still alive so she's proven herself more than enough."

"I was going easy on her," Kyron muttered, letting Amber fall to the floor. "Why didn't you use the shield to defend yourself?"

"Because if I had I would've destroyed you!" Amber growled, touching the scratch on her cheek which had started to bleed.

* * *

"I apologise for Kyron's behaviour," Nadia said as she cleaned Amber's cheek. "Our country has waited a long time for the shield to be returned and now it's finally here he just wants to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"So how are Council members chosen?" Saria asked while admiring the artwork around the room. "Is it a family thing?"

"Pretty much. My brother Hiro and I are descendents of one of the oldest families in Asterlin. All of the Council members are actually… although Kyron's is a bit of a mystery."

"How come?" Alanna asked curiously.

"Well, the one who used to hold his position was an uncle of his but then one day he just disappeared. Later we were informed by Kyron that he had been ill for a while and hadn't wanted anyone to know so being his only living relative, Kyron took his place. It may sound suspicious to an outsider but trust me, only a rightful Council member would be able to perform the type of magic Kyron can." Finishing with Amber's wound, Nadia turned her full attention to the group. "So, apart from granting you official permission to access the shrines of Asterlin is there anything else I can help you with?"

"We were hoping to travel east next, to a place called Canarfon," Link explained.

"Ah, that's good timing since there's been a lot of trouble there lately," Nadia glanced toward the picture of Tyson on the wall. "If you leave through the east gate of the city and travel straight through the grasslands you'll eventually arrive at the mountain railway. Once through there it's not far to the town."

"Thank you so much," Alanna bowed. "We'll be sure to let you know if we have any more problems."

* * *

"She seemed nice," Saria commented as they left the city. "So did Bryce."

"Yeah, shame we can't say the same for all three," Link frowned at the thought of Kyron's glaring face. "You'd think he'd be politer considering we don't have to be here."

"Hopefully the others are nicer," Taj joined the conversation as they all watched Amber running on ahead.

"Does she ever run out of energy?" Alanna felt exhausted just by watching the girl.

"The Gerudo are an active race," Taj recalled his childhood living with them as he slowed down to match Alanna's pace while the others walked ahead.. "They pride themselves on agility and stealth and are always encouraged to keep busy."

"Interesting, what else do you know about the races of Hyrule?" Having never been out of Asterlin the girl had always wondered what other countries were like.

_Do you think Alanna likes Taj? _Saria mentally asked Link.

_Sure, they seem to get along and chat a lot, why wouldn't she like him?_

_I meant like like! You know, the liking sort of like._

_Um, you're making me imagine a lot of like-likes here, _Link grinned. _But I get what you mean. Why do you think that though?_

_The way they are together and she bought him clothes earlier today, sure, she bought them for me and Amber too but I don't know, it was like she purposely went out of her way to find something for Taj._

_Yeah, she obviously isn't interested in me since she didn't get me anything and neither is my girlfriend because she didn't get me anything either,_ he joked receiving a playful whack on the arm.

_We both know you'd act grateful for any clothing bought for you then stash it away and we'd never see it again._

_Good point and that's just one of the reasons why I love you so much, _he took her hand in his as they continued their silent conversation.

"It must be nice, to be so in love," Alanna sighed wistfully. "Just look at them, it's as if they know what the other is thinking without even saying it."

"Uh," Taj was thrown off by her comment, not sure how to respond. Waiting until the pair in front had walked further enough ahead, he leaned in closer to Alanna. "You want to know a secret?"

"I guess?" Alanna looked a little anxious.

"Well, don't tell Amber but…" He whispered about how Link and Saria could speak to each other telepathically. Since it was the second time she'd commented on their actions he figured it was fair to let her know.

"Oh!" She exclaimed a bit louder than Taj would have liked. "Now it all makes sense."

"What're you two whispering about?" Link asked the pair who both shot him innocent glances.

"Uh, just the weather, it changes so often but once Taj explained how it works it makes way more sense now!" Alanna nodded, almost believing her own cover story.

Having gained quite a distance on the others, Amber stood by a lone tree to catch her breath. Madi and Koda hovered over her head attempting to make small talk with the Gerudo.

"You two didn't have to keep up with me," Amber said in reply to something they had asked about her favourite type of desert horse.

"We know," Koda replied. "But we wanted to keep you company, all the others seem paired up after all."

"Uh, maybe Link and Saria but the other two aren't."

"They look pretty cosy to me," Madi chimed in.

"Are you kidding me? Alanna is clearly into girls and Taj has the emotional range of a stone wall." Folding her arms Amber slid down the side of the tree until she was sitting in the grass.

"Alanna's into girls? I don't get that impression at all," Koda landed on the girl's head. "And I know girls."

"Believe me, every girl is into girls, they just haven't realised it yet since someone has to take interest in guys."

"As logical as ever," the male fairy sighed, he missed his group of adoring girls back home.

Ignoring the fairy, Amber leapt up and approached the rest of the group who were finally catching her up.

"Hey, do you guys want to play a game?" She figured she would get an activity going to pass the time.

"Sure, what kind of game?" Saria asked.

"How about guess the famous Gerudo? Me and my friends at home play it all the time!"

"Um, but we don't know any famous Gerudo, not any good ones anyway," Link stated.

"I'll fill you in!" Amber muscled her way in between the two so she didn't feel as left out as the fairies made her out to be. "There's Natala, she was the first Gerudo to wrestle a sand golem with her bare hands! Then there's Isami who discovered the purple leever, oh and Malosa who found out that the sun is at its hottest when it's at the highest point in the sky."

* * *

"I'm sure there's one more," Amber tried to remember. For the last twenty minutes she had recited at least thirty names and their achievements. "Oh yeah! Katanu, she designed the uniform all Gerudo guards wear."

"Wow, I think I lost track after number five," Saria was impressed at the girl's knowledge of her culture.

"You want me to start over?"

"No!" Both Link and Saria shouted.

"I'm sure we'll remember them if we go over them in our minds," Link assured her.

"Alright, well I'll think of one and you two ask me questions about her, but I can only answer yes or no and you only get twenty questions in which to guess my person." Amber quickly thought of a name. "OK, go!"

"Is it a girl?" Link asked lamely.

"Yes!"

"Is she a Gerudo?" Saria joined in.

"Yep!"

"Is she one of the famous people you just told us about?" Link gave a small yawn.

"Yeah! You two are good at this!"

"Hey you three, maybe we should find somewhere to camp for tonight," Taj interrupted their game.

"Hmm?" Link looked around to realise the sun had almost set, Amber had been a decent distraction after all. Looking to his left he spotted a cluster of trees not too far from them which looked like a good place to set up camp.

"Here you go," Amber handed Link his new sleeping bag as they set up camp in the clearing they had found within the woods.

"You got me a pink sleeping bag?" Link took the thing, eyeing it cautiously.

"We got them for everyone!" Amber gave a wide smile. "Apart from Taj, Alanna got him the last blue one in the shop."

"Whoopie for Taj," Link grumbled. Looking at Saria he caught her smiling at him as he was reminded of their conversation that afternoon.

"Quit whining, you need to get more in touch with your feminine side anyway," the Gerudo stretched her arms lazily.

"Is that why you got a pink one too?" Tossing the bag aside, Link knelt in the centre of the clearing and used Din's Fire to light a fire.

"I'll ignore that," Amber spread out her blankets to sit on. "Now let's eat!"

* * *

"Someone tell me a bedtime story," Amber yawned as she snuggled into her sleeping bag.

"Is that what your mother does every night?" Taj asked from his own sleeping bag.

"N-no," the girl denied. "Well, maybe sometimes. Hey! I find it hard to sleep okay?"

"You didn't have any problems last night," Alanna could still hear the Gerudo's snoring in her mind.

"I've got a story," Link said from his position at the base of a nearby tree where Saria was sitting on the lowest branch overhead. "So there was once a hero called Mipo and his two friends Malone and Starla."

Saria gave a loud cough.

"It's not that bad!" He reached up and grabbed her ankle in an attempt to pull her from the branch but instead ended up with her shoe.

"Sounds boring and I've already heard it," Amber mumbled.

"That's impossible! This is a one of a kind creation."

"You can say that again," Saria tried to grab her shoe from Link, only to fall off the branch and land in his lap.

"Anyway, the three embarked on an epic quest to save the kingdom…"

Ten minutes passed.

"And then!" Link was about to continue when he heard loud snoring from Amber's direction and it appeared that Taj had fallen asleep too. "It's not that boring, is it?"

"Hmm? What did you say?" Saria yawned still sitting on his lap, her head resting against his chest.

"I thought it was great, the part about the rat was my favourite," Alanna gave a genuine smile. "Why don't you two get some sleep? I can take first watch."

"I'll stay up with you," Saria volunteered.

"If you're sure Alanna, we're the ones who're meant to be 'guarding' you and all that," Link didn't want to neglect his duties, especially after the meeting with Kyron.

"It's fine! It will enable me to be useful for once," taking out one of her sketchbooks, Alanna started scribbling the scene before her.

Shifting across to where Alanna was sitting, Saria watched her with fascination.

"Here, you should give it a try," Alanna took out a blank book and handed it to the other girl.

"I'm no good at drawing…" Saria stared at a blank page as she was given a pencil. Looking back at Alanna's picture she noticed how she was using her left hand. "You're left handed? So is Link."

"Really? I don't meet many left handers. It does make writing a little messy though, when my hand smudges the page." Finishing a rough sketch of the campsite, she started adding various colours.

Drawing a series of lines and shapes on her page, Saria shaded in some parts before showing Alanna. "What do you think?"

"Um," Alanna had no idea what the picture was meant to be. "It's… nice."

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Saria sighed, putting the book down. "It's my Pepeckeri, Perri, but I suppose my art skills don't represent him very well," she laughed.

Alanna couldn't help laughing as well, there was something infectious about the Kokiri when she was happy, it was a comforting feeling.

"What's a Pepeckeri?"

For a while the girls chatted about the various adventures Link and Saria had been on along with some history of Hyrule.

"Wow," Alanna breathed, still trying to take in the wealth of new information.

"Is it that shocking?" Saria tilted her head to one side. "I'm sure Asterlin has its fair share of stories."

"Well yeah, but none of our stories involve evil kings and a holy artefact that can grant wishes." Signing her name on the bottom of her finished sketch, Alanna put the book aside. "So, if your talent isn't drawing what is it/"

"Music, I can play a few instruments but the ocarina is my speciality. I'd offer to show you sometime but I don't have an ocarina at the moment," she glanced towards Amber before looking back. She was still annoyed at what had happened but it didn't bother her as much as it had.

Sensing something was wrong, Alanna quickly changed the subject.

"How long have you and Link known each other?"

"A while."

"What? Like ten years or something?"

"Yeah, give or take a few," Saria didn't feel like explaining how the Kokiri race worked, especially how Link wasn't a full Kokiri and how she had chosen to age.

"Hmm," Alanna stared at the ground then back at the other girl. "You should get some sleep, I'll be alright for another hour or so."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to wake Link?" Saria had to admit she was getting a little tired.

"No need, I'll wake him before I go to bed."

After Saria had turned in, Alanna occupied herself by watching the campfire flames dancing in the light breeze. She couldn't believe how far she had come since the times of sitting on the shorefront, even if it had only been a couple of days. Stretching wearily, she rubbed her eyes as sleep threatened to take over.

"Shouldn't hurt if I rest my eyes for a second," she mumbled, lying down and letting herself relax to the point she was slipping in and out of conscious thought. A moment later and the girl had drifted off to sleep.

_Crack_

The snapping of twigs echoed throughout the woods, however, no one around the campsite heard a thing.

"Shh!" A voice hissed. "We don't want to wake them before we get there. Remember, go for the shield, the staff and the book."

A group of three bandits surrounded the camp. Draped in travelling cloaks with knives at the ready, they encircled the sleeping group before attacking.

"What the!" Amber screamed as she was dragged from her sleeping bag by a big, burly stranger. "Get off of me!"

"Quick, tie her up over there and get the others!" The one who appeared to be the leader commanded.

The man carrying a kicking Amber was about to comply until he was thrown back by a gust of wind with such force that he had no choice but to let her go. Not being given a second to recover, a series of vines ripped from the ground and dragged him high into the treetops before sending him plummeting back towards the earth.

"Get the shield!" Saria yelled, ducking as a fiery spell flew in her direction.

"Right," Amber lunged for her weapon and threw it on her back. "Now let's kick some ass!"

"No, you two get out of here, they're obviously after the shield," Link instructed. "Taj and I will take care of Alanna."

"Humph, no fun," Amber grumbled as she was ushered out of the clearing by Saria.

Emerging into the fields, they were greeted with two more bandits.

"They must have known we'd try to escape," Saria summoned a blast of forest magic before they could get an attack in.

Using the blast as a distraction, Amber ran forward and rammed one edge of the shield into the nearest attacker. The intense heat of the burning metal burned right through his cloak into his skin causing him to crumble to the ground in agony. Being so pleased with her mini victory, the Gerudo didn't notice the second man sending a deadly burst of ice in her direction.

"Yikes!" Amber squeaked, raising the shield just in time to take the brunt of the attack.

Moving behind the man, Saria uprooted a withered patch of grass from nearby, turning the dying plant life into razor sharp blades that pierced the man's hands and face as they flew around his body in an emerald cyclone.

Running into the fray, Amber put her fists to work and punched the man square in the jaw before spinning on one heel and kicking him in the chest. Dusting her hands off as he fell to the floor, she was about to congratulate herself when a scream came from behind. Turning her head, she saw the first man had managed to recover and was now holding Saria in such a way that it was impossible for her to cast spells. Slipping a knife from his jacket, he held it against her throat.

"You make one move and she gets it," he growled at Amber who wasn't sure what to do next.

* * *

A/N: If anyone is interested in the origins of Mipo, Malone and Starla take a look at my oneshot _Once Upon A Cliche._


End file.
